Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. “It’s just not going to be the right tool for the job, especially when we’re talking about defending our friends like Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines against a Chinese threat that grows and grows,” Hinote told reporters in May. He had said that the Air Force would use the current fleet of F-22s as a “bridge” until the NGAD is up and running. Clinton Hinote noted that the development of the F-22 Raptor began in the early 1990s, and that the platform would be almost four decades old, and possibly outdated, by the time it is finally retired in the 2030s.

It has been noted that the contract for modernization will be completed just as the NGAD is set to enter service, which is why some have suggested that the program be ended sooner.Įarlier this year, U.S. The ARES indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract will also cover a five-year base ordering period and a five-year option period. This would include the Air Force’s procurement of modernization hardware kits along with systems upgrade, repair and logistics support service through the Advanced Raptor Enhancement & Sustainment (ARES) program. To that end, Lockheed Martin has received a potential 10-year, $10.86 billion contract to update and maintain the Air Force’s fleet of F-22s. That was arguably a shortsighted decision given the capabilities of the aircraft – yet even as there are now those who would like to see the remaining aircraft retired sooner than later, the Raptor will likely remain operational until the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter enters service in the 2030s. However, the program was cut short by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to just 187 operational aircraft. The United States Air Force had originally planned to purchase 750 Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors, the twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft.

Lockheed martin f-22 raptor