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Lockheed Martin: F-22, F-35 More Effective Than Legacy Fighters


March 14, 2006

Lockheed Martin said the F-22 Raptor reached U.S. Air Force Initial Operational Capability last December and the first flight of the F-35 is scheduled later this year, making the 5th generation of fighter aircraft a reality.

Numerous analyses of tactical aircraft operations from a variety of government sources have all reached the same conclusions: 5th Generation fighters are significantly more effective than legacy fighters in all air dominance mission requirements and are the best value for the money, according to Lockheed Martin.

"These fighters bring an order of magnitude increase in capability, survivability and supportability over legacy fighters, at a significantly lower cost and will transform defense worldwide," said George Standridge, vice president and deputy for business development at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.

Without getting into detailed, classified information, Standridge said that the F-22 Raptor's combination of stealth, speed, precision, agility, situational awareness, air-to-ground and air-to-air combat capabilities make it unlike any other military aircraft in the world. It is faster to the fight, two times more reliable and three-plus times more effective than the F-15 it replaces. The Raptor also requires 1/3 less airlift to deploy.

Standridge said that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be:

  • Four times more effective than legacy fighters in air-to-air engagements.
  • Eight times more effective than legacy fighters in prosecuting missions against fixed and mobile targets.
  • Three times more effective than legacy fighters in non-traditional Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) and Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses and Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD) missions.
  • About the same in procurement cost as legacy fighters, but requires significantly less tanker/transport and less infrastructure with a smaller basing footprint.

"The synergy that results from combining stealth, speed, maneuverability, persistence, information fusion and situational awareness, improved sustainability, lean deployment and the ability to work within and interact with a broad array of networked systems in a single platform represents a quantum leap in capability and survivability over previous fighters," said Standridge. "No other fighter in the world today besides the F-22 and F-35 can make those claims."

Source: Lockheed Martin.