Made by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, the F-22 uses two pratt and whitney F119-PW-100 Turbofan engines with afterburners
and two-dimensional thrust vectoring
nozzles and air force statement said. It is 16 feet tall, 62 feet long and
weighs 43,340 pounds. its maximum takeoff
weight is 83,500.
The Air Force and Lockheed Martin have
now validated several new weapons on the F-22 raptor to equip the stealth fighter
with more long-range precision attack
technology. A wider targeting envelope or
field of regard and new networking
technology enabling improved, real-time
collaborative targeting between aircraft.
The two new weapons which have been
under testing and development for
several years now are advanced variants
of existing weapons. The AIM-9X air-to-air missile in the AIM-120D. Upgraded variants of each are slated to
be operational by as soon as next year.
The new AIM-9X will shoot farther and
reach a much larger targeting envelope
for pilots. Working with a variety of helmets and
display systems, Lockheed developers have
added off boresight, targeting ability
enabling pilots to attack enemies from a
wide range of new angles. It is a much more agile missile with an
improved seeker and a better field of
regard.
"You can shoot over your shoulder. if
enemies get behind me in a close-in
fight, i have the right targeting on the
plane to shoot them," Can Merchant vice
president F-22 Lockheed told Warrior Maven in an interview.
Raytheon AIM-9X weapons developers have
told warrior that the block 2 variant
adds a redesigned fuse in a digital
ignition safety device that enhances
ground handling and in-flight safety. Block 2 also features updated
electronics that enable significant
enhancements, including lock-on after
launch capability using a new weapon
data link to support beyond visual range
engagements, a raytheon statement said.
Another part of the weapons upgrade
includes engineering the F-22 to fire
the AIM-120D, a beyond visual range advanced
medium-range air-to-air missile. Amron
designed for all weather day and night
attacks, it is a fire and forget, missile
with active transmit radar guidance, raytheon data states.
The AIM-120D is built with upgrades to
previous amram missiles by increasing
attack range, GPS navigation, inertial
measurement units in a two-way data link, raytheon statements explain.
"The new AIM-12
uses a better seeker and is more
maneuverable with better countermeasures," Merchants said.
As the air force and lockheed martin
move forward with weapons envelope
expansions and enhancements for the F-22. There is of course a commensurate need
to upgrade software and its onboard
sensors to adjust to emerging future
threats, industry developers explained.
Ultimately this effort will lead the air
force to draft up requirements for new F-22 sensors. F-22 lethality is also getting vastly
improved through integration of new
two-way link 16 datalink connectivity
between aircraft, something which will
help expedite real-time airborne
collaborative targeting.
"We have had link 16 received but we have
not been able to share what is on the
raptor digitally. we have been doing it all through voice," Merchant explained,
Having a digital
ability to transmit fast changing, combat
relevant targeting information from an F-22 cockpit without needing voice
radios. Lessens the risk associated with
more jammable or hackable communications. F-22 technologies, newer F-22s have a
technology called Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) which uses electromagnetic
signals or pings to deliver a picture or
rendering of the terrain below, allowing
better target identification.
The SAR technology sends a ping to the
ground and then analyzes the return
signal to calculate the contours, distance and characteristics of the
ground below. The F-22 is also known for its super
cruise, technology which enables the
fighter to reach speeds of mach 1.5
without needing to turn on its after
burners. This enables the fighter to travel
faster and farther on less fuel, a
scenario which expands its time for
combat missions.
The fighter jet fires a 20 millimeters
cannon and has the ability to carry and
fire all the air to air and air to
ground weapons including precision
guided ground bombs, such joint direct
attack munitions called the GBU-32 and GBU-39. It also uses what's called a radar
warning receiver. A technology with an
updatable database called mission data
files, designed to recognize a wide range
of enemy fighters much like the F-35.
The aircraft
was first introduced in december of two
thousand five. The F-22 raptor fighter
jet delivered some of the first strikes
in the u.s led attacks on the islamic
state in Iraq and Syria when aerial
bombing began in 2014, service officials
told warrior.
After delivering some of the first
strikes in the u.s coalition led
military action against isis. The F-22
began to shift its focus from an air
dominance mission to one more focus on
supporting attacks on the ground. For the long term, given that the air
force plans to fly the F-22 well into
the 2060s. These weapons upgrades are
engineered to build the technical
foundation needed to help integrate a
new generation of air-to-air missiles as
they emerge in coming years. Intent is to make sure we keep our first
look first shot first kill mantra
merchant said.
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