The F-22 Raptor is the best stealth fighter jet, why did the US stop production?

WASHINGTON – F-22 Raptor recorded as the only fifth-generation stealth fighter jet in the world’s first. It is considered the best fighter jet owned by the United States (US) in the post-Cold War late 1990s.

This advanced fighter aircraft made by Lockheed Martin is only produced 187 units and is exclusive, because no other country has it. However, why did America choose to stop production of this great fighter jet?

Also read: US F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet chooses to flee if duel with Russian Su-35

For your information, the F-22 Raptor is the most expensive fighter aircraft with a price of USD 120 million (Rp 1.7 trillion) per unit or USD 361 million (Rp 5.1 trillion) per unit when added to development costs.

The fighter jet was made from 1996 to 2011. Its maiden flight was September 7, 1997. The F-22 was introduced or officially launched on December 15, 2005.

Citing reports National Interest, Friday (12/31/2021), the story of the F-22 Raptor begins in the early 1980s. Eager to maintain air superiority, the US Air Force began looking for a replacement for the F-15C Eagle.

In 1990, flights between the Northrop YF-23 and Lockheed Martin YF-22 resulted in the Air Force selecting the YF-22, later renamed the F-22 Raptor, as the cornerstone of America’s future air power.

Initially, the US Air Force believed that the new 750 F-22 Raptor fighters would cost approximately $26.2 billion (at $35 million per unit).

In 1990, with the Cold War drawing to a close, the George HW Bush administration cut its purchases to 648 aircraft. In 1997 that number fell again to 339 units, and in 2003 the number was again slashed to 277.

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