101 Facts About F-22 Raptor

Video from the channel Aircraft 101 about Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 51:57. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

A collection of 101 facts about the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, narrated as a numbered list. It covers its origin, its stealth design, its engines and weapons, maintenance and oxygen-system problems, its operational history and service anecdotes, with frequent comparisons to other fighters. The narrator himself acknowledges that some performance figures remain classified, and that some numbers are approximate.

The F-22 emerged from the Advanced Tactical Fighter program of the 1980s, conceived as a response to Soviet fighters such as the Su-27 and the MiG-29. In 1986 Lockheed teamed up with Boeing and General Dynamics to develop the YF-22, competing against Northrop and McDonnell Douglas's YF-23. After the 1991 flight evaluation, the Air Force chose the YF-22 for the agility given by its thrust vectoring and for its avionics integration. The F-22's first flight took place in September 1997, with Paul Metz at the controls, and initial operational capability arrived in December 2005. The planned fleet of 750 aircraft was cut to 381 and ended up far smaller still after the end of the Cold War and the cap set in 2009 by Defense Secretary Gates. The 1998 Obey Amendment bans its export, despite interest from Japan, Australia and Israel. The last unit was delivered on 2 May 2012.

It carries two Pratt & Whitney F119 engines with thrust-vectoring nozzles and can fly in supercruise without afterburner. Its weapons are carried in internal bays: up to six AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and an M61A2 20mm cannon with 480 rounds; it can also carry GBU-32 JDAM or GBU-39 bombs. It entered combat in September 2014 over Syria, as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. In February 2023 it shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the US east coast with an AIM-9X missile. Between 2008 and 2012 it suffered hypoxia incidents that forced the fleet to be grounded in 2011. In 2018 Hurricane Michael damaged several aircraft at Tyndall Air Force Base, which were later repaired. The program received the Collier Trophy in 2006.