27 Facts About F-22 Raptor

1.

Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force .

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2.

The YF-22 Raptor had its maiden flight on 29 September 1990 and in-flight tests achieved up to Mach 1.

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3.

F-22 Raptor cannot be exported under US federal law to protect its stealth technology and classified features.

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4.

Customers for U S fighters are acquiring earlier designs such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon or the newer F-35 Lightning II, which contains technology from the F-22 but was designed to be cheaper, more flexible, and available for export.

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5.

However, the Royal Australian Air Force determined that the F-22 Raptor was unable to perform the F-35's strike and close air support roles.

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6.

However, in 2009 it was reported that acquiring the F-22 Raptor would require increases to the Japanese government's defense budget beyond the historical 1 percent of its GDP.

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7.

The F-22 lost influential supporters in 2008 after the forced resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General T Michael Moseley.

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8.

In December 2011, the 195th and final F-22 Raptor was completed out of 8 test EMD and 187 operational aircraft produced; the aircraft was delivered to the USAF on 2 May 2012.

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9.

The F-22 Raptor has been used to test technology for its eventual successor from the Next Generation Air Dominance program; some advances are expected to be applied to the F-22 Raptor as well.

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10.

F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation air superiority fighter that is considered fourth generation in stealth aircraft technology by the USAF.

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11.

The F-22 Raptor has clipped diamond-like delta wings blended into the fuselage with four empennage surfaces and leading edge root extensions running to the upper outboard corner of the caret inlets.

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12.

F-22 Raptor's aerodynamics, relaxed stability, and powerful thrust-vectoring engines give it excellent maneuverability and energy potential across its flight envelope.

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13.

In 2007, the F-22 Raptor's radar was tested as a wireless data transceiver, transmitting data at 548 megabits per second and receiving at gigabit speed, far faster than the Link 16 system.

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14.

F-22 Raptor has integrated radio functionality, the signal processing systems are virtualized rather than as a separate hardware module.

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15.

F-22 Raptor has three internal weapons bays: a large main bay on the bottom of the fuselage, and two smaller bays on the sides of the fuselage, aft of the engine inlets; a small bay for countermeasures such as flares is located behind each side bay.

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16.

F-22 Raptor was designed to be highly difficult to detect and track by radar.

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17.

The F-22 Raptor was designed to have decreased radio emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature as well as reduced visibility to the naked eye.

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18.

Unlike the B-2, which requires climate-controlled hangars, the F-22 Raptor can undergo repairs on the flight line or in a normal hangar.

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19.

The F-22 Raptor has a Signature Assessment System which delivers warnings when the radar signature is degraded and necessitates repair.

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20.

The F-22 Raptor designation was reinstated in December 2005, when the aircraft entered service.

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21.

Flight testing of the F-22 began in 1997 with Raptor 4001, the first EMD jet, and eight more EMD F-22s would participate in the flight test program as the Combined Test Force at Edwards AFB.

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22.

F-22 Raptor 4001 was retired from flight testing in 2000 and subsequently sent to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for survivability testing, including live fire testing and battle damage repair training.

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23.

The stealth coatings of the F-22 Raptor were designed to be more robust and weather-resistant than those used in earlier stealth aircraft.

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24.

In March 2013, the USAF announced that an F-22 Raptor had intercepted an Iranian F-4 Phantom II that approached within 16 miles of an MQ-1 Predator flying off the Iranian coastline.

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25.

The F-22 Raptor Aeromedical Working Group had recommended several changes in 2005 to deal with the oxygen supply issues that were initially unfunded but received further consideration in 2012.

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26.

X-44 MANTA, or multi-axis, no-tail aircraft, was a planned experimental aircraft based on the F-22 Raptor with enhanced thrust vectoring controls and no aerodynamic surface backup.

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27.

On 25 March 2009, an EMD F-22 crashed 35 miles northeast of Edwards AFB during a test flight, resulting in the death of Lockheed Martin test pilot David P Cooley.

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