Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor facts for kids

The F-22 Raptor is a fighter plane made by Lockheed Martin. It first flew in 1990, and entered service in the United States Air Force in 2005. Because it is expensive, there will not be as many of them as earlier fighter planes. It uses stealth, which means it cannot be seen on radar. It can hold 6 radar-guided medium-range AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and 2 heat-seeking, short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Its top speed is 2.4 times the speed of sound and it features thrust vectoring, where the plane's thrust nozzles turn to help turn it faster.

The Plane is a 5th generation Fighter and is a very expensive plane to produce, and the USAF say they will provide the plane to other countries but in a "watered down state"

USAF information poster

Images for kids

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  ATF SPO Patch, 1990

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  Manufacturers of the F-22

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  Two F-22s during flight testing, the upper one being the first EMD F-22, Raptor 4001

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  Two F-22As in close trail formation

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  An F-22A of the 411th Flight Test Squadron test-fires an AIM-9X.

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  F-22 flying with its Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engines on full afterburner during testing

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  An F-22 releases a flare during a training flight

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  Cockpit of the F-22, showing instruments, head-up display and throttle top (lower left)

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  One AIM-120 AMRAAM (right) and four GBU-39 SDB (left) fitted in the main weapons bay of an F-22

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  F-22 with external weapons pylons

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  For stealth, the F-22 carries weapons in internal bays. The doors for the center and side bays are open; the six LAU-142/A AMRAAM Vertical Eject Launchers (AVEL) are visible.

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  Front fuselage detail of an F-22

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  An F-22 refuels from a KC-135 during testing; the attachment on the back top is for a spin recovery chute

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  An F-22 fires an AIM-120 AMRAAM

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  An F-22 from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, intercepting a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bomber near American airspace

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  2005: An F-22 of the 43d Fighter Squadron flies alongside an F-15 of the 27th Fighter Squadron.

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  An F-22 refueling prior to combat operations in Syria, September 2014

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  F-22 from Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, cruising over the Florida Panhandle

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  An F-22 landing at Holloman AFB, New Mexico

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  An F-22, based at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, over mountain terrain

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  F-22 with drop tanks in transit to Kadena Air Base, Japan, from Langley AFB, Virginia

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  F-22 Raptor 3-view drawings

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  F-22's underside with main bay doors open

See also

In Spanish: Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor para niños