F-22 Raptor Specs, Variants, Cost and Operators

The F-22 Raptor is the world’s first operational fifth-generation fighter, a stealthy, supercruising air superiority jet of which Lockheed Martin built just 187 production aircraft before the line closed in 2011. Two decades after entering service it remains the benchmark for air combat performance, and it is still flown only by the United States.

What is the F-22 Raptor

The F-22 was designed in the 1980s as a replacement for the F-15 Eagle, to beat a projected generation of Soviet fighters by combining stealth, speed and a powerful radar. The YF-22 prototype flew in 1990, the first production-standard aircraft in 1997, and the Air Force declared initial operational capability in December 2005. The aircraft was built by Lockheed Martin with Boeing and Pratt & Whitney as principal partners.

There is essentially one version, the single-seat F-22A, flown in a series of software and hardware blocks. A two-seat F-22B trainer and a proposed FB-22 bomber were both canceled, and upgrades such as the Increment 3.2B package added newer missiles and data-link improvements. Production was supposed to reach more than 700 jets. The end of the Cold War, rising costs and the turn to counterinsurgency cut the buy to 187 production aircraft, with a few more for test, and the last Raptor was delivered in 2012. That small fleet, roughly 180 jets in inventory of which fewer than two-thirds are combat coded, is the reason the type is often described as too valuable to lose, and too scarce to risk. Its stealth characteristics are explained in our guide to what radar cross-section really means.

F-22 Raptor specifications

F-22 Raptor weapons and sensors

The Raptor carries its weapons internally to protect its stealth. The main bay holds six AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, two smaller side bays each hold an AIM-9 Sidewinder, and a 20 mm M61A2 cannon sits in the right wing root. For ground strike the jet can swap some missiles for two 1,000-pound JDAMs or a load of small-diameter bombs. External pylons exist but are rarely used because they spoil the radar signature.

The AN/APG-77 active electronically scanned array radar is designed for low probability of intercept, meaning it can search while being hard to detect. Combined with a fused sensor picture and advanced data links, it lets a Raptor pilot see and shoot before opponents know they are being tracked. Upgrades under way add improved sensors, newer missiles such as the AIM-260 JATM and better connectivity.

F-22 Raptor combat record

The Raptor’s combat debut came in September 2014, when F-22s dropped precision bombs on Islamic State targets in Syria. It has mostly been a deterrent and air-policing asset since, frequently intercepting Russian aircraft near Alaska and Europe. The best known kill came in February 2023, when an F-22 shot down a Chinese high-altitude balloon off the coast of South Carolina with an AIM-9X Sidewinder. The jet has never downed a manned aircraft in combat, in part because few adversaries have dared to meet it.

Its reputation rests largely on exercises. In training against F-15s, F-16s and F-35s, it is famous for lopsided results, although those numbers come from the Air Force and cannot be independently checked. Direct comparison with China’s jets is addressed in our J-20 vs F-22 analysis.

Why can’t the F-22 be exported

A 1998 US law, the Obey amendment, prohibits export of the F-22. Congress worried about technology leakage, and the ban has outlasted several attempts to lift it, including interest from close allies in Japan and Australia. The consequence is that allies bought the F-35 instead, which has become the de facto Western export standard. The F-22 also ended production with aging tooling, making a restart impractical, and its sustainment costs, reported at well above $60,000 per flight hour, are high.

What’s next for the F-22 and the next-generation fighter

The Air Force plans to keep the Raptor into the 2030s while the Boeing-built F-47 sixth-generation fighter, chosen in 2025 under the Next Generation Air Dominance effort, develops. A limited number of aircraft are being modernized, but the service has resisted large, expensive upgrades, arguing the fleet’s job is to bridge to its successor.

F-22 Raptor frequently asked questions

How many F-22 Raptors were built?

Lockheed Martin built 187 production aircraft, and 195 including test jets, before production ended in 2011.

How much does an F-22 cost?

Flyaway cost is reported near $150 million per jet, with total program cost above $60 billion, figures that vary by accounting method.

Has the F-22 ever shot down an aircraft?

It has shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon in 2023 but no manned aircraft in combat.

Which countries fly the F-22?

Only the United States. Federal law bars export of the F-22.

Is the F-22 better than the F-35?

The F-22 is superior in speed, altitude and air-to-air performance, while the F-35 has stronger sensor fusion and is built in far greater numbers.