The F-22 Raptor: The Full Story

Video from the channel Megaprojects about Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 1:09:39. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

Documentary reviewing the full history of the F-22 Raptor, a single-seat, twin-engine air-superiority fighter that the video presents as the first operational fifth-generation fighter. That status rests on four traits: stealth, supercruise, sensor fusion and agility. The story runs from the definition of the requirement to operational service and the arrival of its successor.

In November 1981 the US Air Force identified the need for an advanced tactical fighter, the ATF programme. In September 1983 it signed definition contracts with seven companies, and the request for proposals came in September 1985. On 31 October 1986 two teams were selected: Lockheed, Boeing and General Dynamics on one side, and Northrop and McDonnell Douglas on the other. In 1987 Lockheed redesigned the YF-22 under the direction of Sherman Mullin. The prototype flew on 29 September 1990 at Edwards, piloted by Dave Ferguson. On 23 April 1991 Secretary Donald Rice announced the victory of the YF-22 and the F119 engine over the YF-23 and the F120. The development and production phase began in August 1991.

The first production aircraft, Raptor 01, rolled out of the Marietta plant on 9 April 1997 and flew on 7 September that year with Paul Metz at the controls. As many as roughly 750 aircraft were once envisioned, but only 187 production aircraft and 8 test aircraft were built. The 1998 Obey Amendment banned its export. The aircraft reached initial operational capability in December 2005 with the 27th Fighter Squadron, at Langley. In the 2006 Northern Edge exercise it scored 144 kills to 0, and in February 2007 it was deployed to Kadena. On 6 April 2009 Secretary Gates proposed ending production, and in July that year the Senate withdrew funding. The documentary recalls the deaths of pilots Cooley in 2009 and Haney on 17 November 2010. Following them, the fleet was grounded from 3 May to September 2011, with the probable cause attributed to the pressure-vest valve. Its first combat mission was on 22 September 2014, over Syria. On 4 February 2023 an F-22 shot down the Chinese balloon at about 58,000 feet with an AIM-9X. In March 2025 the contract for its successor, the F-47, was awarded to Boeing.