The sensors were not designed for the F-22. Rather, the sensors were designed for application aboard the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) platform, which is slated to replace the F-22. But if successful, the new sensors could be installed aboard the F-22, providing the thirty-year-old jet with an upgrade sufficient to extend her service life into the 2030s.  

“The F-22 team is working hard on executing a modernization roadmap to field advanced sensors, connectivity, weapons, and other capabilities,” said Air Force Brigadier General Jason Voorheis. “The Raptor team recently conducted six flight test efforts to demo advanced sensors…We’re executing that successfully and that will lead to…a rapid fielding shortly.” 

What are the Sensors? 

The nature of the new sensors remains classified. But some information suggests that the slender pods fielded on a test F-22 recently contain infrared search-and-track (IRST) systems that will improve the Raptor’s ability to detect stealth aircraft, like the kind that Russia and China have been working to develop.  

The advancements of the Russians and the Chinese are a significant factor prompting the retirement of the F-22. While the F-22 is still the world’s preeminent air superiority fighter, the jet relies upon outdated stealth technology – outdated because adversary air defense technologies have become more advanced and more adept at detecting low-RCS aircraft like the F-22, meaning the F-22 would have difficulty operating in contested airspace. 

One of the advantages of the newer F-35, and the forthcoming NGAD, would be a lower RCS relative to the F-22.  

Postponing the Replacement 

However, the F-22’s retirement could be hitting a snag, as the replacement aircraft, the NGAD, has been paused. The NGAD pause is the result of cost overruns, each NGAD unit was expected to cost upwards of 300 million dollars. The high cost has forced the Air Force to hit reset and investigate measures to reduce costs, to get the cost per unit down somewhere in the ninety million dollar range, somewhere comparable to the F-35 or the F-15EX.  

Still, the NGAD is front of mind, even as the Air Force works to modernize the F-22. The new F-22 sensors “support all future programs,” Voorheis said. “And we will leverage all of that technology as we go forward, on any platform.”  

The more immediate advantage, however, will be modernizing the F-22, which is already the world’s strongest air superiority fighter. According to Voorheis, the updated sensor technology will allow the F-22 to retain “that first-look, first-shot, first-kill advantage.”  

The anticipated adversary for either the updated F-22 or the NGAD will be the Russian and Chinese fifth-generation jets, the Su-57 and the J-20, respectively. Although, neither the Russians nor the Chinese have matched the Americans concerning fighter quality or quantity, the Americans are adhering to the time-honored tradition of investing heavily in aerospace development.  

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken. 

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