With the U.S. Air Force planning to retire the F-22 in favor of the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, the Raptor will likely never operate from aircraft carriers.
Regardless of the F-22 Raptor’s prowess, this fifth-generation platform is incapable of landing on a carrier. In a nutshell, Air Force pilots are simply not trained to fly on aircraft carriers. In addition to this lack of training, Raptors are quite hefty, weighing roughly 45,000 pounds.
Combining stealth, supercruise, maneuverability, and integrated avionics, coupled with improved supportability, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor represented an exponential leap in warfighting capabilities when it was introduced in 2005.
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Mar 09, 2021 06:25 AM EST
(Photo : F-22 Raptor.JPG: Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway/wiki) An F-22 Raptor flies over Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 23 2009 on a routine training mission. The F-22 is deployed from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va.
The F-22 Raptor is the first stealth combat fighter plane in service sway before the F-35 Lightning II. It is only now that other nations are beginning their 5th gen fighter.
Stealth fighters like the Raptor is still the most capable compared to other newer ones. Operated by the US Air Force and never sold due to the threat it has to its survivability.