F-22 Raptor has one mission: win every battle

As a fifth-generation stealth fighter, the F-22 is specifically designed for air supremacy and air dominance missions, meaning its radar-evading technology is designed to evade and destroy enemy air defenses.

The aircraft is also configured to function as the world’s premier air-to-air fighter, capable of ‘dogfighting’ and easily destroying enemy aircraft.

Behind the wheel

The F-22’s command and control sensors and electronic equipment assist other coalition aircraft in identifying and destroying targets. Although some of the aircraft’s technologies are not “publicly discussed,” Air Force F-22 pilots and weapons developers say the F-22’s active and passive sensors allow the aircraft to function as an “air quarterback” mission can unfold.

For example, based on information from a ground command and control center or a nearby surveillance aircraft – such as a Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) – the F-22 can receive information or target coordinates from nearby drones.

Currently, drone targeting information is sent back to an F-22 from the ground station.

However, computer algorithms and technology are evolving to the point that aircraft like an F-22 will soon be able to quickly view video footage from drones in the cockpit without the need for a ground station – and eventually control nearby drones from the air.

The F-22 is known for a range of technologies, including a capability called “supercruise,” which allows the fighter to reach speeds of Mach 1.5 without having to engage the afterburners. This increases the jet’s operational range in terms of both speed and range, giving it an advantage over other fighters.

F-22 Weapons

The fighter jet fires a 20mm cannon and has the capability to carry and fire all air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, including precision-guided ground bombs such as Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), called the GBU 32 and GBU 39. .

In air-to-air configuration, the Raptor carries six AIM-120 AMRAAMs and two AIM-9 Sidewinders.

F-22 pilots say the aircraft features an advanced sensor suite that allows the pilot to track, identify, shoot and kill air-to-air threats before they are detected. Significant advances in cockpit design and sensor fusion improve pilot situational awareness.

F-22 Raptor as pictured in a Lockheed Martin tweet.

Air Force weapons developers are also using a so-called radar warning receiver – a technology that uses an updatable database, called ‘mission data files’, to identify a wide range of enemy fighters.

The F-22, made by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, uses two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines with afterburners and two-dimensional thrust vector nozzles, an Air Force statement said. It is 16 feet long, 62 feet tall and weighs 43,340 pounds.

The maximum takeoff weight is 83,500 pounds.

The Air Force’s stealthy F-22 Raptor fighter jet carried out some of the first strikes in the US-led assaults on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria when the aerial bombardment began in 2014.

After conducting some of the first strikes in the US coalition-led military action against ISIS, the F-22 began to shift its focus from an air dominance mission to one more focused on supporting ground attacks.

About the author

Kris Osborn is military affairs editor of 19FortyFive and president of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army – Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist for national TV networks. He has appeared as a military guest expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel and The History Channel. He also has a master’s degree in comparative literature from Columbia University.