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.

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 F-22 was attached to 27th Fighter Squadron "Fighting Eagles", 1st Fighter Wing then based out of Langley AFB, Virginia during 2006. Sold Out!

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

Release Date: October 2011

Historical Account: "Fighting Eagles" - The 27th Fighter Squadron (27 FS) is a unit of the United States Air Force 1st Operations Group located at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. The 27th is equipped with the F-22 Raptor.

The 27th Fighter Squadron is the oldest active fighter squadron in the United States Air Force, with over 95 years of service to the nation. It was organized as the 21st (later 27th) Aero Squadron on June 15th, 1917, at Kelly Field, Texas. The squadron deployed to France and fought on the Western Front during World War I as a pursuit squadron. It took part in the Champagne-Marne defensive; Aisne-Marne offensive; St. Mihiel offensive, and Meuse-Argonne offensive.

During World War II the unit served in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) as part of Twelfth Air Force as a P-38 Lightning fighter squadron, participating in the North African and Italian campaigns. During the Cold War it was both an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor squadron as later as part of Tactical Air Command. It was the first USAF operational squadron equipped with the F-15A Eagle in January 1976