F-22 was revealed in 2005 and till today, it's one of the most successful air dominance fighters ever built. However, besides the undoubtedly impressive performance of the aircraft, the program caused mixed feelings.
In the beginning, there were a lot of political differences. The two main reasons were the cost and the usage of the aircraft. The exact cost of the Raptor can not be determined. In the 2000s, the cost was about 100 to 180 million dollars. To think about it, each F-35 costs about 80 million. The rivals of the Raptor stated that with the research and development cost, each Raptor was almost worth 350 to 380 million dollars.
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Για αυτόν το λόγο η Αμερική δεν εξάγει το κορυφαίο F-22 Raptor
Besides that, there is also the usage problem. With the ending of the Cold War, a lot of people believed that an air dominance fighter is not needed. In 2000, Defense Minister Robert Gates decided that F-22 won't be pretty useful against Iraq and Afghanistan (the US was fighting with them at that time). Gates also fired anyone who insisted on supporting F-22s. The official order was given by Obama in 2009.
The fans of the Raptor insisted that there aren't enough of these aircraft. They also stated that this air dominance will be needed, and the 180 available Raptors won't be enough.
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Η απόλυτη σύγκριση μεταξύ F-35 και F-22
Some pretty known officials also said their opinion that the remaining Raptors aren't enough to cover the needs of the Pacific, Europe, and Mid East. The threats of the J-20 and Su-57 fighters make the F-22 even more important.
The close of the program has left many F-22s nonoperational. Only 125 of the 188 aircraft are fully operational and ready to fly. In times of great military competition, the US may take the wrong decision for their most deadly fighters ever…
