![]() This is a much-needed capability the USAF has sorely lacked for decades. The end result will look more like a sleeker and faster B-2 Spirit or a X-47B drone, instead of something similar to the twin-tailed F-35 Lightning II, or the single-tailed F-16 Fighting Falcon.Īn F-22 banking away after refueling in midair with a KC-135 Stratotanker (Photo US Air Force)Īdditionally, the new fighter be built for long-range missions - especially escorting larger bomber aircraft like the B-2, or the upcoming B-21 Raider, deep behind the front lines to strike at the heart of the enemy’s war machine. Instead, the PCA will likely remove the vertical stabilizers altogether to enhance stealth by decreasing the aircraft’s overall radar signature. Every American fighter jet ever built has featured one or two vertical stabilizers which, as their names suggest, provide stability and yaw control in flight. It will also probably be supersonic, and able to actively defeat enemy sensors in a similar manner to the F-22 and F-35.Īmong the most noticeable differences between the F-22 and its replacement will be the lack of tails. It will likely be highly stealthy, carrying its weapons internally in order to minimize radar detection. The F-22’s replacement, currently known as “Penetrating Counter Air,” will take shape in much the same way.Ī 6th generation fighter concept developed by Boeing for the US Navy (Photo Boeing) Throughout the USAF’s history, each of its fighter jets have built upon the aircraft they replaced, incorporating lessons learned and proven concepts, while expanding on their capabilities with new technology and methods of prosecuting aerial combat. ![]() With the looming retirement of the F-15C/D Eagle, its secondary air superiority fighter, in the next decade, the Air Force has begun taking strides towards designing the F-22’s follow-on in order to maintain its combat edge over every other air force in the world. Operational units at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, Elmendorf AFB in Alaska, and Hickam AFB in Hawaii fly the type.The F-22 Raptor is already the most lethal fighter jet ever built, severely outclassing virtually every other aircraft of a similar class fielded by the rest of the world’s air forces.īut with the advent of newer anti-aircraft defense systems, stealth-defeating tracking technologies and the entrance of countries such as China and Russia into the stealth fighter foray, the F-22 will eventually need to be replaced with something even more powerful. ![]() The US Air Force, the F-22's sole user, received 187 production examples. Platform, and was indeed employed in this role for its combat debut over Syria in September 2014. It is also an impressive air-to-ground strike The F-22 is able to 'supercruise', meaning it can sustain supersonic speeds in level flight without the use of afterburner. Its low-observable, or 'stealth', characteristics and an advanced sensor suite are intended to ensure that air-to-air threats can be dealt with before the Raptor is even detected by hostile radars meanwhile, the agility afforded by the twin thrust-vectoring Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engines makes it a formidable opponent in air combat. ![]() Making a very welcome appearance since its stunning displays at RIAT 2016, the F-22 Raptor is built by Lockheed Martin and described not only as an air superiorityįighter, but an air dominance fighter.
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