US set to upgrade its F-22 Raptor fleet

The U.S. Air Force is investing heavily in upgrading its Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors fleet, with a recent $1 billion contract awarded to RTX Raytheon for sensor enhancements.

The United States Air Force's Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors air superiority fighters will soon have "sharper claws" – in the proverbial sense. The service has awarded RTX Raytheon a contract valued at more than $1 billion for a sensor upgrade on the fifth-generation fighters, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

"[The] fixed-price incentive (firm-target),undefinitized contract for Group B hardware, spares, and support equipment. This contract provides for the F-22 sensor enhancements program that is designed to improve the F-22 sensor capabilities. Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed by May 8, 2029," the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contract announcement stated, adding, "The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity."

This upgrade is just part of a larger U.S. Air Force effort to enhance the capabilities of the F-22, and according to a report from ShephardMedia, "will require $7.8 billion in investments before 2020… the modernisation roadmap for the stealth fighter will also include improved connectivity and weapons, new cryptography, an expanded open architecture and an advanced threat warning receiver to make the aircraft fitter for more years in service, particularly in the Indo-Pacific Command area."

Currently, the Air Force has called for the retirement of 32 of the older Block 20 Raptors – which have been deemed not combat-capable – while the remaining 154 F-22s in the fleet will receive the upgrades. The upgrades are considered necessary for the Raptor to retain its edge over those of potential adversaries.

"The F-22 team is working really hard on executing a modernization roadmap to field advanced sensors, connectivity, weapons, and other capabilities," Air Force Brigadier General Jason Voorheis, program executive officer for Fighters and Advanced Aircraft at the AFLCMC, told reporters during a press briefing last month.

News.Az