The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American stealth tactical fighter aircraft with one seat and twin

engines that can operate in any weather. It was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The
aircraft was developed as an air superiority fighter as part of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF)
program. It also has capabilities for ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence. While
Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems, Lockheed Martin, the
prime contractor, constructed the majority of the F-22's airframe and weapons systems and performed
final assembly.

Although the USAF had initially planned to purchase 750 ATFs, the program was reduced to 187
operational aircraft in 2009 due to high costs, a lack of air-to-air missions due to the focus on
counterinsurgency operations at the time of production, a ban on exports, and development of the
more affordable and versatile F-35;[N 1] the last F-22 delivered in 2012. Prior to its formal entry into
service in December 2005 as the F-22A, the aircraft flew for the first time in

The F-22 has grown to be an essential part of the USAF's tactical airpower despite its lengthy
development and initial operational challenges. Contents 1 Development 1.1 Origins 1.2 Production and
procurement 1.3 Export ban 1.4 Production termination 1.5 Upgrades 2 Design 2.1 Overview 2.2
Avionics 2.3 Cockpit 2.4 Armament 2.5 Stealth 3 Operational history 3.1 Designation and testing 3.2
Introduction into service 3.3 Maintenance and training 3.4 Deployments 3.5 Operational problems 4
Variants 4.1 Proposed derivatives 5 Operators 5.1 Frontline squadrons 5.2 Test and Evaluation
Squadrons 6 Accidents 7 Aircraft on The U.S. Air Force identified in 1981 a requirement for an Advanced
Tactical Fighter (ATF) to replace the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. This was followed by the
Lockheed YF-22 ATF SPO patch in 1990. This air-superiority fighter program, codenamed "Senior Sky,"
was influenced by emerging global threats, such as new developments in Soviet air defense systems and
the proliferation of fighter aircraft of the Sukhoi Su-27 "Flanker" and Mikoyan MiG-29 "Fulcrum" classes.
[6] It would take advantage of the upcoming new technologies in fighter design, such as composite
materials, lightweight alloys, advanced flight control systems and avionics, more powerful propulsion At
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the program was managed by the System Program Office (SPO), which
took over from the ATF concept development team in 1983. In September 1985, the demonstration and
validation (Dem/Val) request for proposals (RFP) was issued. The requirements placed a strong emphasis
on supercruise and stealth. Companies were encouraged to work together because of the significant
financial commitments required to develop the technology needed to achieve performance goals. On
October 31, 1986, Lockheed and Northrop were chosen from the seven bidders.[N 2] The Skunk Works
division of Lockheed then collaborated with Boeing and General Dynamics, Northrop with McDonnell
Douglas, and the two contractor teams went through a 50-month Dem/Val phase that culminated in the
flight tests of the YF-22 and YF-23 technology demonstrator prototypes, respectively. Pratt & Whitney
and General Electric received concurrent contracts to develop the ATF engine competition's YF119 and
YF120 engines, respectively.[7][8]