Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor FB-22

In 2002 Lockheed Martin began studying a conversion of the F-22 into a medium-to-long-range fighter-bomber, conceived as an interim solution until a next-generation bomber arrived around 2030. The design went through several iterations and the later ones combined the F-22 fuselage with greatly enlarged delta wings; its most striking features were those wings, the absence of a vertical fin and the lengthened fuselage, all aimed at improving stealth, gaining room for internal weapons and appreciably increasing range, at the cost of an agility the mission profile made secondary. A second crew member, a weapon systems officer, was also planned to relieve the pilot during the attack phase. Maximum take-off weight would have been around 42 tonnes and range over 2,580 kilometres; two Pratt & Whitney F135s were proposed in place of the F119. The main armament was to be up to thirty GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs — the F-22 can carry only eight internally — for a total load of up to 15,000 kilograms, 4,500 of them on external stations. Interest was slight from the start because of cost: airframe development alone was estimated at up to a billion dollars. The proposals were cancelled with the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review and subsequent developments, in favour of a larger subsonic strategic bomber with far greater range, which became the Next-Generation Bomber, rescoped in 2009 as the Long Range Strike Bomber and finally as the B-21 Raider.