“If I didn’t have air supremacy, I wouldn’t be here.”

~Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower~ 

This quote from Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, made after the D-Day invasion, illustrates the military’s reasoning for their constant quest in developing cutting edge air superiority. In a time when surface-to-air missile systems are a cheap and readily available way for a country to upgrade their air defense systems, a fresh approach had to be sought to counter the threat of this new dynamic. The unequivocal answer to the question as to who dominates the skies came in the form of the F-22 Raptor.

 In 1981, the United States Air Force adopted a new criterion for development of next generation air superiority fighters dubbed the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF). The original idea developed at the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to create guidelines to create an aircraft that would incorporate emerging technologies and would utilize the advanced alloys and composites, fly-by-wire flight control systems, stealth technologies, supercruise abilities, maneuverability and integrated avionics.

In July of 1986, a Request For Proposal sent out to aeronautic contractors and in October of that same year, Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics and Northrop/McDonnell Douglas were chosen to participate in a fifty month “demonstration/validation” phase, from which two prototypes, the YF-22 and YF-23, were entered into a series of flight tests. On April 21st, 1991, Lockheed’s YF-22 prevailed opening the door for immediate production.

The team that delivered the first production F-22 to Nellis Air Force Base on January 14th, 2003 was comprised of several different development teams, contractors and sub-contractors. Lockheed-Martin Aeronautic Company in Marietta, Georgia took on the role of overseeing the weapon system integration and development of the and construction of the forward fuselage, cockpit, vertical fins, stabilators, the leading edges of the wing and empennage, the ailerons and the flaperons and the landing gear, among other functional designs. Lockheed-Martin’s sister company in Fort Worth, Texas was responsible for the development of the mid fuselage, the armament, as well as custom tailoring the electronic warfare system, and the integrated navigation, communications and identification systems (CNI). Boeing was put in charge of the wings, the radar absorbent material (RAM), the aft fuselage, the avionics integration, the radar system development as well as some of the flight test protocols. The USAF took a major role in the testing of the prototypes and every development stage thereafter.

One of the most touted of the team members is Pratt-Whitney, who was contracted separately to produce the F-22’s engines. The inclusion of two F119-PW-100 advanced technology reheated jet engines enables the F-22 to achieve maximum thrust of 39.000 lb. (155 kN). The F119-PW-100 has a three stage fan, a six stage compressor and a single stage low and high pressure turbine. Through a technique know friction welding, the hollow Titanium blades are made separately and then fused together with the disk, creating a one piece unit.

One of many unique advantages of the F-22, due in a large part to Pratt-Whitney F119-PW-100 engines, is its ability to sustain supersonic cruising speeds of Mach 1.5 without the use of afterburners, which is termed “supercruising”. Coupled with the F-22’s powerful engines the integrated flight controls and two dimensional, thrust vectoring engine nozzles give the fighter an increased edge with excellent maneuverability. The nozzles can divert the full augmented thrust 2o degrees in a fraction of a second, enabling the aircraft to perform and angle of attack of over 60 degrees and with the nozzles custom shape, allows the plane to remain stealthy.

Aside from the armament loadouts listed below in the specs, the fixed weapon that the F-22 employs has some unique features and specifications that warrant description. Located above the right wing root is the M61A2 Gatling internal long barrel 20mm cannon with a 480 round magazine that is capable of firing at a rate of 6,000 shots per minute through an inward opening door, which maintains the fighter’s stealth and allows the blast pressure and the rounds to clear the muzzle. The door is hydraulically controlled and can open in milliseconds when the trigger is engaged by the pilot and closes automatically when either the trigger is released or the last bullet is fired. The whole self-contained system consists of the M61A2, the gun door, gun port, the gas purge system, the Linear Linkless Ammunition Handling System (LLAHS) and the hydraulic drive system, which is a 42 horsepower fixed displacement motor.

With its ability to dominate a wider swath of ground with fewer planes coupled with unsurpassed maneuverability, unbelievable speed and stealth and an impressive array of weapon loadouts, the F-22 is the premier air superiority fighter in the world…and it’s coming back home for the first time to Dayton.

"We will bring stealth into the daylight and multiply the effects of our air and ground forces with the most dominant, versatile and revolutionary aircraft in the history of military aviation, the F-22 Raptor multirole strike system."
~Dr. James G. Roche, Secretary of the Air Force
September 2002

Primary Function: Air dominance, multi-role fighter
Contractor: Lockheed-Martin, Boeing
Power Plant: Two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines with afterburners and two-dimensional thrust vectoring nozzles.
Thrust: 35,000-pound class (each engine)
Wingspan: 44 feet, 6 inches (13.6 meters)
Length: 62 feet, 1 inch (18.9 meters)
Height: 16 feet, 8 inches (5.1 meters)
Weight: 43,340 pounds (19,700 kilograms)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 83,500 pounds (38,000 kilograms) 
Fuel Capacity: Internal: 18,000 pounds (8,200 kilograms); with 2 external wing fuel tanks: 26,000 pounds (11,900 kilograms)
Payload: Same as armament air-to-air or air-to-ground loadouts; with or without 2 external wing fuel tanks.
Speed:  Mach 2 class with supercruise capability 
Range: More than 1,850 miles ferry range with 2 external wing fuel tanks (1,600 nautical miles)
Ceiling: Above 50,000 feet (15 kilometers)
Armament: One M61A2 20-millimeter cannon with 480 rounds, internal side weapon bays carriage of two AIM-9 infrared (heat seeking) air-to-air missiles and internal main weapon bays carriage of six AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles (air-to-air loadout) or two 1,000-pound GBU-32 JDAMs and two AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles (air-to-ground loadout)
Crew: One 
Unit Cost: $142 million (approx)

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