F-22 Raptor: The Best 'Air Superiority Fighter' in the World

Summary and Key Points: Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor, despite lacking combat kills, recently achieved a significant milestone of 500,000 flight hours. The fifth-generation air superiority fighter, introduced in 2005, has proven its capabilities in various roles, including ground attacks during Operation Inherent Resolve.

-The F-22 demonstrated impressive performance in training exercises, achieving high kill ratios against advanced adversaries.

-While it has faced a few losses and crashes, the Raptor remains one of the most advanced and capable fighters in the world, continually evolving with ongoing modernization efforts.

Unrivaled Air Superiority: F-22 Raptor Achieves Major Milestone

Those of a certain age (Boomers and Gen-X I'm talking to you) remember that the marquee at many of fast food giant McDonald's locations famously proclaimed billions of hamburgers served. In fact, the hamburger chain sold its billionth burger live on Art Linkletter's TV show in 1963 (before the first Gen-Xer was even born). McDonald's has moved on to other ad campaigns, but companies of all sizes still like to tout significant milestones.

For defense and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, it can't tout the combat record of its fifth-generation F-22 Raptor because apart from downing a suspected Chinese spy balloon, the air superiority fighter has ZERO kills. Instead, the defense firm announced that the F-22 recently reached 500,000 flight hours – a major accomplishment for any combat aircraft, even those that have yet to fire their weapons against an armed foe.

"As we celebrate 500,000 flight hours, we look ahead to the continued evolution of not only the F-22 but air combat in its entirety. The ongoing modernization efforts and strategic upgrades being made to the F-22 today will further enhance its capabilities, while also enabling the next generation of air dominance," Lockheed Martin said in a June 17 release marking the milestone. "Here's to the next chapter of unrivaled air superiority, as the F-22 Raptor continues flying for the future, paving the path with each and every hour."

The Raptor program achieved its first significant milestone in May 2005, when the first combat-capable F-22 was delivered to the 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Wing, at Langley Air Force Base (AFB), Virginia. The fifth-generation fighters with the squadron flew the first operational mission in January 2006 in support of Operation Noble Eagle – the official name given to the Air Force's defense of America's border.

Air-to-Air Combat Unproven – But Still a Capable Warbird

More than 25 years since the Raptor made its maiden flight; it has remained arguably the best air superiority fighter in the world. Though it hasn't been employed in actual air-to-air combat – it took part in ground attack sortie during Operation Inherent Resolve, the American-led intervention in Syria. Raptors first dropped 1,000-pound GPS-guided bombs on Islamic State targets near the Tishrin Dam in September 2014. It continued to operate in a ground attack role through July 2015, conducting a total of 204 sorties over Syria, dropping 270 bombs at some 60 locations.

It is also possible to expect that it do far more than hold its own as an air superiority fighter. This was highlighted in a training exercise just a year after the first combat-capable F-22s entered service.

"During the highly realistic Exercise Northern Edge 2006, the F-22 proved itself against as many as 40 'enemy aircraft' during simulated battles. The Raptor pilots achieved a 108-to-zero 'kill' ratio against the best F-15, F-16 and F-18 'adversaries.' The stealthy F-22A also proved that it could avoid and destroy enemy surface to air missiles, and recorded an impressive 97 percent mission capability rate," the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, noted on its website about the aircraft.

In the museum's collection is one of the nine prototype F-22 Raptors built for Engineering, Manufacture and Development (EMD) testing.

"Specifically noting the Raptor's performance at Northern Edge, the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) awarded its 2006 Robert J. Collier Trophy, considered America's most prestigious award for aeronautical and space development, to the Lockheed Martin Corp.-led F-22 Raptor aircraft team 'for designing, testing and operating' the Raptor," the museum further explained.

However, the official tally for the F-22 may be even greater. According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, during the two weeks of air engagements in Exercise Northern Edge 2006, the F-22-led "Blue Air" team scored a 241-to-two kill ratio. Those two losses weren't actually F-22s; they were F-15Cs that were flying in support of fifth-generation stealth fighters.

It remains an impressive record, but as The National Interest has reported, F-22s have been bested on a few occasions in training exercises. Even the best aircraft, piloted by the very best pilots in the world will have a moment where something goes wrong – a fact to remember too as there have been 16 crashes involving the aircraft.

In other words, nothing is absolutely perfect. When it comes to combat aircraft, the F-22 may be as close as it gets.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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