PRIDE OF AMERICA !!! US Air Force F-22 Fighter Aircraft




Design Overview
The F-22 Raptor is a fifth generation fighter that is considered fourth generation in stealth aircraft technology by the USAF.[101] It is the first operational aircraft to combine supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth, and sensor fusion in a single weapons platform.[8] The Raptor has large shoulder-mounted trapezoidal wings, four empennage surfaces, and a retractable tricycle landing gear. Flight control surfaces include leading and trailing-edge flaps, ailerons, rudders on the canted vertical stabilizers, and all-moving horizontal tails; these surfaces also serve as speed brakes.[102]

The aircraft's dual afterburning Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines are closely spaced and incorporate pitch-axis thrust vectoring nozzles with a range of ±20 degrees; each engine has maximum thrust in the 35,000 lbf (156 kN) class.[7] The F-22's thrust to weight ratio in typical combat configuration is nearly at unity in maximum military power and 1.25 in full afterburner.[103] Maximum speed without external stores is estimated to be Mach 1.82 during supercruise and greater than Mach 2 with afterburners.[104][N 2]

The F-22 is among only a few aircraft that can supercruise, or sustain supersonic flight without using fuel-inefficient afterburners; targets can be intercepted which subsonic aircraft would lack the speed to pursue and an afterburner-dependent aircraft would lack the fuel to reach.[7][106] The Raptor's high operating altitude is also a significant tactical advantage over prior fighters.[107] The use of internal weapons bays permits the aircraft to maintain comparatively higher performance over most other combat-configured fighters due to a lack of aerodynamic drag from external stores. The F-22's structure contains extensive amounts of high-strength materials to withstand stress and heat of sustained supersonic flight. Respectively, titanium alloys and composites comprise 39% and 24% of the aircraft's structural weight.[108]

The F-22 is highly maneuverable at both supersonic and subsonic speeds. Computerized fly-by-wire control system and full authority digital engine control (FADEC) make the aircraft highly departure resistant and controllable at aggressive pilot inputs.[109][110] The Raptor's relaxed stability and powerful thrust vectoring powerplants enable the aircraft to turn tightly and perform very high alpha (angle of attack) maneuvers such as the Herbst maneuver (J-turn) and Pugachev's Cobra. The aircraft is also capable of maintaining over 60° alpha while having some roll control.[111]


Key avionics include BAE Systems EI&S AN/ALR-94 radar warning receiver (RWR),[114] Lockheed Martin AN/AAR-56 Infrared and Ultraviolet Missile Launch Detector (MLD)

