Intended to be the leading American advanced tactical fighter in the early part of the 21st century, the Raptor is the world's most expensive fighter to date costing about $120 million per unit, or $361 million per unit when development costs are added. Part of the reason for the decrease in the requirement is that the F-35 Lightning II uses much of the technology used on the F-22, but at a much more affordable price. To a large extent the cost of these technologies is only lower for the F-35 because they have already been developed for the F-22. Had the F-22 not been developed, the costs of these technologies for the F-35 would have been significantly higher.

Next generation technology abound in the Raptor. For starters, the F-22's dual Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines with afterburners incorporate thrust vectoring. Thrust vectoring is in the pitch axis only, with a range of 20 degrees. The maximum thrust is classified, though most sources place it at about 35,000 lbf (156 kN). Maximum speed is estimated to be Mach 1.72 in supercruise mode and without external weapons; with afterburners, it is - greater than Mach 2.0 - (2120 km/h), according to Lockheed Martin. The Raptor can easily exceed its design speed limits, particularly at low altitudes; max-speed alerts help prevent the pilot from exceeding the limits. Gen. John P. Jumper, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, September 6th, 2001 to September 2nd, 2005, flew the Raptor faster than Mach 1.7 without afterburners on January 13th, 2005. The absence of variable intake ramps may make speeds greater than Mach 2.0 unreachable, but there is no evidence to prove this. Such ramps would be used to prevent engine surge, but the intake itself may be designed to prevent this. Former Lockheed Raptor chief test pilot Paul Metz says the Raptor has a fixed inlet. Paul Metz has also stated that the F-22 has a top speed greater than 1600 mph (Mach 2.42) and its climb rate is faster than the F-15 Eagle. This is because the F-22 is one of the few fighter aircraft with a thrust to weight ratio significantly greater than 1:1.

The true top-speed of the F-22 is largely unknown, as engine power is only one factor. The ability of the airframe to withstand the stress and heat from friction is a key factor, especially in an aircraft using as many polymers as the F-22. However, while some aircraft are faster on paper, the internal carriage of its standard combat load allows the aircraft to reach comparatively higher performance with a heavy load over other modern aircraft due to its lack of drag from external stores. It is one of a handful of aircraft that can sustain supersonic flight without the use of afterburner augmented thrust. The fuel usage from using afterburners would have greatly reduces its flight time.

The F-22 is highly maneuverable, at both supersonic and subsonic speeds. The usage of the F-22's thrust vectoring nozzles allows the aircraft to turn tightly, and perform extremely high alpha maneuvers such as Pugachev's Cobra and the Kulbit. The F-22 is also capable of maintaining a constant angle of attack of over 60 degrees.

Avionics include Raytheon and Northrop Grumman AN/APG-77 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, possibly the most capable radar in active service, with both long-range target acquisition and low probability of interception of its own signals by enemy aircraft.

This particular 1:72 scale replica of a US F-22A Raptor was attached to the 411th Flight Test Squadron, then deployed to Edwards AFB during 2010. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-1/2 inches
Length: 10-1/4 inches

Release Date: December 2013

Historical Account: "Assessing the Future" - The 411th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron assigned to the 412th Operations Group of Air Force Materiel Command, stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It conducted the Advanced Tactical Fighter program fly off competition between the Lockheed YF-22 and Northrop YF-23 prototypes. Following the completion of the competition, the squadron has conducted testing of the Lockheed Martin F-22.

The squadron was first activated as the 6511th Test Squadron in March 1989 to conduct the Advanced Tactical Fighter program. It began flying the Northrop YF-23 on August 27th and the Lockheed YF-22 on September 29th, 1990, flying both through December 1990, though the airplanes were assigned to the manufacturers rather than to USAF. The YF-22 (and the Pratt & Whitney F119 engine) was declared the winner of the competition on April 23rd, 1991, and on August 2nd, 1991, both YF-22 prototypes were transferred to the Air Force.

Though the Number 1 YF-22 returned to the Lockheed Corporation plant to become a ground test bed for production designs, the Number 2 aircraft flew with the 6511th until April 25th, 1992, when it was extensively damaged in a landing mishap. The 6511th (re-designated the 411th Test Squadron in October 1992) then spent the next few years planning for the F-22 test program and received the first Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor in February 1998.

Edwards flight testing was completed in December 2004 and the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia was the first squadron to transition to the Raptor, receiving the first operational aircraft 18 January 2005 from Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, where the 43d Fighter Squadron trained Raptor pilots.

On March 25th, 2009, an F-22 operated by a squadron pilot, David P. Cooley, crashed 35 miles northeast of Edwards during a training flight.

The squadron successfully tested the F-22 flying on a 50/50 fuel blend of conventional petroleum-based JP-8 and biofuel derived from camelina, a weed-like plant not used for food, in March 2011. The overall test objective was to evaluate biofuel fuel blend suitability in the F-22. Testing consisted of air starts, operability, and performance at different speeds and altitudes throughout the flight envelope. The F-22 Raptor performed several maneuvers including a supercruise at 40,000 ft. reaching speeds of Mach 1.5.