That won’t obviate some of the other challenges.”īesides NGAD, the Air Force plans on retaining the F-35 - which Brown said will act as the “cornerstone” of the fighter inventory - as well as the F-15EX and F-16. Yes, you can could conceivably put that into the F-22.
THE F 22 RAPTOR UPGRADE
“We’re going to need that if we’re going to upgrade all of our fighters. “You will see in our budget submissions that we are pursuing advanced air to air missiles,” he said. In addition, the Air Force will operate the F-35 in greater numbers, with only 186 F-22s in the Air Force’s inventory compared to 283 F-35A models as of May 8, according to .Īnd importantly, the F-35 is easier to modernize than the F-22 - although Hinote noted that there will a request in the fiscal 2022 budget to make targeted upgrades to the F-22′s sensor capability, as well as to fund new weapons that can be used across the entire fighter inventory. However, the F-35 is newer, more flexible and easier to maintain, with a longer service life ahead of it than what the F-22 can offer, and new weapons incoming as part of its Block 4 upgrade program. The F-22 can carry six AIM-120C AMRAAM and two AIM-9 missiles internally for air-to-air missions, while the F-35 can carry only four AMRAAMs inside its payload bay while maintaining a stealth configuration. The F-22′s range and magazine depth issues aren’t that different than those from the F-35, Hinote acknowledged.
It has a relatively short-range - only 1,850 nautical miles with two external fuel tanks - and its weapons magazine is small and lacks depth and range.Įven its survivability will eventually be at stake as adversary nations field more capable air defense systems and its stealth advantage degrades, he said.
The F-22′s limitations, Hinote said, include a small fleet size that contributes to high operating costs and low mission capable rates.
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