Last year, Academy rolled out their 1/48 F-22 and it instantly became the best Raptor kit on the market. The problem with the Italeri kit was the designers didn't capture the angled down nose that starts behind the cockpit resulting in a rather odd appearance. Next came the Italeri 1/48 scale F-22, and for the longest time, it was the only real kit option for a production aircraft. In the beginning, there was Testors' huge 1/32 YF-22 kit, and it was really the only option for the Raptor until a few tiny scale kits were released. While the Raptor has not seen combat to date, the aircraft have deployed around the world to practice the Air Force version of the Navy's old 'gunboat diplomacy', putting potential trouble makers on notice that their air and air defenses will become smoking holes in the ground should they wish to test their knives in the next gun fight. It shouldn't be any surprise that the F-35 Lightning II has already surpassed the cost of the F-22 and the F-35 was supposed to be the 'budget' model. This vicious cycle of 'saving money' resulted in the Raptor setting new records for cost, not because the aircraft is expensive, but because of the politics of 'saving money'. As the Air Force and Congress tried to 'save money' by cutting the number of aircraft built, the cost of development is spread across fewer airframes and the cost per airframe skyrockets. The cost of that development is spread across the number of aircraft built. What gets overlooked all-too-often is that it costs X dollars to develop an aircraft. Its gestation may have been long, but it has developed a significant leap in manned fighter capabilities.ĭespite the aircraft's capabilities, the F-22 took a lot of flak from the press and others for becoming the most expensive fighter ever produced.
The F-22 took an extraordinary period of time to develop prior to entering service, but the aircraft represents the integration of major advances in avionics, aerodynamics, flight control laws, stealth, and propulsion. What's the difference? Trying to fight against the Raptor is like bringing a knife to a gun fight.
When the F-22 Raptor entered service, it was billed as the air dominance fighter. When the F-15 Eagle entered service in the mid-1970s, it was billed as the air superiority fighter for the US Air Force.
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