How Many F-22 Raptors Does The US Air Force Have?

The F-22 Raptor is an incredibly advanced fighter, and it's also the first fifth-generation aircraft produced, having taken to the skies in December 2005. Since then, more F-22s have been built, and they're used solely by the United States Air Force. An interesting quirk of the F-22's development and the way the U.S. Congress has dealt with it is that it's so advanced that U.S. law bans it from being exported. You'd think that having such an advanced jet would lead to a huge American fleet, but that's not the case for the F-22.

The program to create the F-22 involved a long process of developing nascent technology in several areas, including propulsion and stealth. It resulted in a highly capable stealth fighter, but at immense cost, which was the F-22's production downfall. The U.S. Air Force only received 195 F-22s, and that number isn't likely to increase. When the U.S. Senate killed the F-22 program, the previously planned 750 aircraft order was curtailed to just 195.

Eight of the produced planes were used for testing, leaving only 187 operational F-22s. That's a small number of jets, but as the F-22 was discontinued, getting more is unlikely. The National Interest reported on a 2017 study that it would cost $50 billion to restart production and deliver another 194 aircraft. It's cheaper and more desirable for the Air Force to focus its attention on the F-35A Lightning II, which has taken up the role of its primary fifth-generation fighter jet.

The primary reason for the Air Force's relatively small fleet of 187 operational F-22s is cost. From the beginning of the program to the delivery of the last F-22, the U.S. spent billions of taxpayers' dollars on the fighter. The F-22's actual cost at the end of the program came out to $369.5 million per aircraft, for a total of $67.3 billion. For comparison, the F-35A, which the Air Force flies, costs $110.3 million. That means the Air Force can buy three and a half F-35s for the cost of a single F-22.

As the cost of the aircraft became a problem, the Senate voted to strip its funding from the fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget. This was in opposition to the House of Representatives' plans for the F-22, but then-President Obama insisted he'd veto the budget bill if F-22 funding continued. At the time, the Air Force sought $4 billion in the FY10 budget to procure an additional 20 F-22s, but the order dropped to zero once it lost all funding.

Instead of the original plan, the Senate Armed Services Committee shifted $1.7 billion from other programs to produce what would become the final seven F-22s produced for the Air Force. While the production of new F-22s ceased, Congress didn't kill the plane entirely. The Air Force continues to update F-22s that remain in operation. Recent upgrades introduced new advanced sensors, further modernizing the F-22. While new ones are unlikely to be produced, the ones currently in service should remain operational into the 2040s.