“None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to approve or license the sale of F-22 advanced tactical fighter to any foreign government.” In so many words, the 1998 Obey Amendment chiseled a permanent boundary around the world’s mightiest fighter, making the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor an American monopoly—despite long-time interest from allies and enemies alike.
Fundamentally, it was rooted in a profound fear of technology leakage. The F-22 was not a typical fighter; it was an “exponential leap in warfighting capabilities” said the U.S. Air Force. Its stealth, sensor fusion, and supercruise set it apart from any aircraft before or since. The Raptor’s radar cross-section is so small, an estimated at just 0.0001 square meters, that it appears on hostile radar as little larger than a large bug, achieved through a synergy of state-of-the-art composite materials and a deftly sculpted geometry that deflects and absorbs radar waves. The F-22’s skin, made from tough carbon-fiber composites, not only retains stealth but also allows greater operational flexibility than previous stealth fighters, which required delicate coatings and climate-controlled hangars The F-22 Raptor’s design reflects a focus on stealth, power, and agility.
The marvel technologies of the F-22 run much deeper than its capability to go invisible. Its two Pratt & Whitney F119 engines, delivering 35,000 pounds of thrust, enable the Raptor to supercruise—maintain speeds greater than Mach 1.5 without the afterburners. This not only provides an easy way of repositioning quickly around a theater, but it also extends the range and kinetic energy of its missiles, a significant consideration for both intercept and beyond-visual-range fighting. The two-dimensional thrust-vectoring nozzles of the engines, having a capability of ±20-degree exhaust deflection, give the F-22 unmatched agility, allowing it to execute post-stall maneuvers of tremendous extremes and out-turn any adversary the Raptor’s speed, altitude, and agility combination render it extremely deadly.
However, it is the F-22’s avionics which render it exceptional. The AN/APG-77 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar can attack multiple targets at extended range and remain all but invisible to enemy sensors. The radar, a state-of-the-art passive sensor suite, and encrypted datalinks fed data into an integrated avionics system that combined information into a single, coherent tactical picture. Pilots describe it as “the airplane do the work” of sensing and even some maneuvering, while they focus on tactical decisions. This sensor integration was a quantum leap from anything fielded before it, providing unparalleled situational awareness and enabling the Raptor to look first, shoot first, and leave enemies at a severe disadvantage the Raptor was one of the first fighters to employ an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.
The basis of the F-22’s export ban is bitter experience. In 1999, the downing of an F-117 Nighthawk over Serbia rocked the Pentagon. Fragments of the world’s first combat stealth fighter were strewn across the countryside, and before long, reports circulated of Chinese agents buying sections from local farmers. Admiral Davor Domazet-Loso, Croatia’s war-era military chief of staff, recalled, “At the time, our intelligence reports told of Chinese agents crisscrossing the region where the F-117 disintegrated, buying up parts of the plane from local farmers. We believe the Chinese used those materials to gain an insight into secret stealth technologies… and to reverse-engineer them.” China’s subsequent development of a J-20 stealth fighter, first test-flown in 2011, only served to fuel concerns that crucial information was gleaned from the wreckage of the Nighthawk China has reportedly copied some of the technological know-how it applied in recent tests of its new stealth fighter from a US F-117 Nighthawk shot down over Serbia in 1999.
This episode only exacerbated the worries that even friendly nations could end up unwitting conduits for American technology. Israel’s acquisition of F-16 blueprints and consequent sales of related technologies to China, utilized to manufacture the J-10 fighter, was a standout instance in congressional debates. Concern over advanced American stealth, sensor, and propulsion technology finding its way to possible enemies prompted legislators to make the F-22 special. Congressman Dave Obey’s dissent was evident: “He was worried the Israelis would leak US tech to China, the way American intelligence believes Israel aided China in the development of its J-10 fighter.”
The development and production of the F-22 ran an exorbitant price tag—over $67 billion in total, with a plane cost of over $350 million. This investment and the fact that the Raptor is the world’s only deployed fifth-generation air superiority fighter just made it all the more desperate to keep it at home the F-22 program cost about $67 billion total, producing under 200 aircraft. Even when allies like Japan and Australia indicated a willingness to co-produce and resume production, the U.S. government stood firm: The F-22 is a cutting-edge, fifth-generation fighter that offers unparalleled capability. It is for this reason that F-22 will not be available for foreign sales, a U.S. Air Force spokeswoman replied.
Operationally, the Raptor is still the standard by which others are judged. Its performance at high altitude, supercruise, and stealth capabilities has been proven time and again in exercises and combat. At one Red Flag, F-22s accumulated 144 kills to 0 losses against aggressor aircraft, a testament to its effectiveness both at beyond-visual-range and close-in engagements.
The legacy of the F-22 is thus characterized not just by unmatched performance but by the unprecedented steps to safeguard its technology. The combination of technological prowess, strategic foresight, and congressional action has ensured that the world’s most advanced fighter, at least for now, is a distinctly American product.
