The fifth-generation F-22 Raptor fighter is capable of effectively securing air superiority, but its emergence at an unfavorable time ultimately rendered the aircraft largely unnecessary, The National Interest argues in an analysis of the program.

According to the publication, the F-22, which entered service in 2005, became the first fifth-generation fighter to be fielded operationally. However, by 2011, production of what was once described as the «deadliest aircraft in the US arsenal» had already been halted.

The author notes that the F-22 was simultaneously ahead of its time technologically and slow to adapt to a rapidly changing global security environment. The stealth fighter proved ill-suited for conflicts against poorly equipped adversaries, such as those encountered in Iraq or Afghanistan. As a result, the United States produced only 187 aircraft instead of the originally planned 750. The lack of extensive combat experience is cited as further evidence of the aircraft’s limited relevance.

The article points out that the Raptor was first used in combat only in 2014, when it carried out strikes against targets in Syria. Its first actual air-to-air engagement occurred nearly a decade later, in February 2023, when an F-22 shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the eastern coast of the United States.

The publication also notes that in September it became known that Lockheed Martin intends to modernize older F-22 Block 20 fighters, which are currently used primarily for pilot training.