A report by the American magazine The National Interest revealed, on Sunday, that the American F-22 Raptor stealth aircraft suffer from a number of defects that cannot be repaired, in addition to many problems in the expensive F-35 aircraft.
The report, translated by Al-Maalouma Agency, stated that “the F-22 Raptor program, which was terminated in 2009 by a decision of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, stopped when only 195 aircraft were built out of 381 planned due to budget constraints and a preference for the next-generation bomber program.”
“Although the US Air Force has adapted to the F-35 and upgraded F-15AX, critics say the downsizing and termination of the F-22 program has left a critical gap in US air power,” he added.
The report continued, “It seems that then-Defense Secretary Gates’ decision had more to do with what he told the press, as retired U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz stated in his 2018 memoir that the motivation behind it was the desire to make room within the U.S. Air Force budget for a next-generation stealth bomber due to the high cost and technical problems with the aircraft model.”
“Accordingly, this has prompted the US Air Force to limit its fleet of Raptors to 178, according to the Global Guide to Modern Military Aircraft. This was dramatically demonstrated in February 2023, when a Raptor achieved its first air-to-air shootdown by finally shooting down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina a full week after it entered US airspace,” he explained.
The report indicated that “the F-35 aircraft also suffers from similar problems, as it suffered from controversial cost overruns and reliability problems, as the United States resorted to the upgraded version of the fourth generation of the F-15 aircraft as a temporary measure to fill the gap left by the F-22 aircraft.”
