Trump unveils ambitious plan for F‑22 and new F‑55 jets
After announcing the name of the F-47 aircraft, developed under the NGAD program, Donald Trump has revealed additional plans for the U.S. Air Force. The American president declared in Qatar his intention to modernize the F-22 and to build the F-55 aircraft, which is a twin-engine version of the F-35.
The presidential announcements concern two types of aircraft currently operated by the U.S. Air Force. The first is the F-22 Raptor. The air superiority fighter, according to Donald Trump, is expected to undergo significant modernization, resulting in the "Super F-22".
The U.S. president's declaration contradicts the current stance of the Pentagon, which has already begun gradually phasing out the Raptors. Despite being over 30 years old, these aircraft still outperform potential adversaries, as evidenced by unofficial reports about Raptor operations over Syria.
However, due to the aircraft's age, particularly its avionics, any upgrades would be costly. With only 196 built (including prototypes) and even fewer remaining in service, the endeavor seems economically unviable.
Donald Trump announces Super F-22
Especially since the F-22s have not been produced since 2011, their production line has been dismantled, and the age of the aircraft generates increasing operational costs.
In such a situation, the decision was made to gradually phase out these machines and eventually replace them with the result of the NGAD program, the F-47 aircraft. Hence, Donald Trump's statement about significant modernization (which would involve keeping these machines in service) is quite surprising.
F-55: a twin-engine version of the F-35
The second aircraft announced by the American president is the F-55. This name refers to a twin-engine variant of the F-35, which, after reconstruction, is expected to become a 5+ generation aircraft and offer 80 percent of the capabilities of the F-47, a 6th generation aircraft. The currently used machines of this type are produced in three versions:
- F-35A – the basic variant, on which the Israeli version F-35I is based;
- F-35B – the vertical take-off and landing variant;
- F-35C – the carrier variant, designed for aircraft carriers.
Adding a second engine would likely increase the aircraft's payload capacity, thereby increasing the amount of armament carried, extending its range, and possibly improving performance related to flight dynamics. These issues were not elaborated on by Donald Trump, and the idea was summarized with a brief statement:
Since the presidential declaration lacks technical details, it leaves room for wide speculation. Adding a second engine to an aircraft designed as single-engine represents a very significant change and would require resource engagement comparable to designing a new machine.
It is also unknown whether the declarations pertain to the American president's vision of the future air force equipment, or if they refer to actual ongoing work related to the significant modernization of American combat aircraft.
