When is the F-22 retiring?
F-22 is not retiring early! F-22 retirement date is much further away than you think.
Although air force generals have consistently indicated the F-22 is very expensive to operate and that money can be better spent elsewhere. But the F-22 will almost certainly continue flying for longer than the Air Force is currently letting on, and it will likely remain a fixture of America’s air superiority strategy well into the 2030s. There are 4 major observations regarding this-
1. F22 is undergoing a $11 billion upgrade. It wouldn’t have been done to retire the fighter in just 5,6 years.
2. Airforce wanted the A-10 to retire a decade ago, but the congress allowed it just last year. So, airforce planning to retire a fighter is not equal to a final decision of retiring it.
3. The NGAD will not be in service in large numbers by 2035. The F-22 provides capabilities to the air force that F-35 doesn’t. Like better stealth, range, dogfighting abilities, which will be useful against other advanced jets flying at the time. So airforce/congress might want to keep F-22 active till NGAD comes in some significant numbers.
4. Even if F-22 starts retirement in early 2030s, not all squadrons will be retired by 2035 for sure.