Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft.As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed as an air superiority fighter, but also incorporates ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities.
Delivering almost 22% more thrust with 40% fewer parts than its F100 predecessor, the F119 allows the F-22 to achieve supercruise speeds of up to Mach 1.8. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The F119's nozzles incorporate thrust vectoring that enable them to direct the engine thrust ±20° in the pitch axis to give the F-22 enhanced maneuverability.
The F-22 Raptor's supercruise capabilities are touted as a major performance advantage over other fighters, with supercruise being demonstrated exceeding Mach 1.5. [ 13 ] [ 2 ] Supercruise capability provides advantages for stealth aircraft because an afterburner plume reflects radar signals and creates a significant infrared signature . [ 14 ]
Plans called for MANTA technologies to be demonstrated on either an F-22 Raptor or F-15. An X-44 prototype would begin test flights by fiscal year 2007. NASA planners stated that developing technologies for the X-44 could have application to the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter programs and commercial supersonic ventures. [2]
Flight testing for the F-22 continued until 2005, and on 15 December 2005 the USAF announced that the Raptor had reached its initial operational capability (IOC); with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Department of Defense focused on counterinsurgency at that time, F-22 production only reached 195 aircraft and ended in 2011. [67] [68]
An F-16 Fighting Falcon (left), P-51D Mustang (bottom), F-86 Sabre (top), and F-22 Raptor (right) fly in a formation representing four generations of American fighters. Fighter aircraft (early on also pursuit aircraft) [a] are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat.
Discover the latest breaking news in the U.S. and around the world — politics, weather, entertainment, lifestyle, finance, sports and much more.
According to Lockheed Martin in 2004, the only fifth-generation jet fighter then in operational service was their own F-22 Raptor. [2] [40] Lockheed Martin uses "fifth-generation fighter" to describe the F-22 and F-35 fighters, with the definition including "advanced stealth", "extreme performance", "information fusion" and "advanced sustainment".