The F-22 is too expensive to fly
The F-22 Raptor is the most advanced fighter jet ever built.
Stealth. Supercruise. Sensor fusion. Thrust vectoring.
It can detect, track, and kill enemy aircraft before they know it’s there.
In every simulation, every exercise, every engagement—it wins.
The problem?
It costs $60,000 per flight hour.
An F-16 costs $22,000.
An F-15 costs $29,000.
The Raptor costs more than twice as much to operate.
And it’s not just fuel.
The stealth coating.
Radar-absorbent material that makes the F-22 invisible to enemy radar.
It deteriorates with every flight.
Heat. Rain. Moisture. Stress.
After every sortie, technicians in clean suits spend 30 hours reapplying and repairing the coating by hand.
30 hours of maintenance for every 1 hour of flight.
That’s not a fighter jet.
That’s a museum piece that occasionally flies.
The Air Force has 187 F-22s.
At any given time, fewer than 100 are mission-ready.
49% readiness rate.
The rest are in maintenance. Waiting for parts. Undergoing repairs.
Because every component is custom. Expensive. Specialized.
There’s no economy of scale.
No parts sharing with other aircraft.
The F-22 production line shut down in 2011.
So when something breaks, they have to fabricate it from scratch.
Or cannibalize parts from other Raptors.
The Air Force is stuck with the most capable fighter in the world that it can’t afford to fly.
And here’s the geopolitical twist:
Congress banned exports.
Japan wanted to buy F-22s. Australia. Israel. South Korea.
Close allies with money and need.
Congress said no.
“Too advanced to share.”
Even with allies.
So the F-22 sits. Alone.
No export sales to offset development costs.
No allied support network to share maintenance burden.
Just the US Air Force spending billions to keep a small fleet barely operational.
Meanwhile, the F-35—cheaper, more exportable, more versatile, gets all the production funding.
15 countries fly the F-35.
Only one country flies the F-22.
The Raptor was supposed to dominate the 21st century.
Instead, it’s too expensive to use and too classified to sell.
The Air Force wanted 750 of them.
Got 187.
Wanted to fly them constantly.
Flies them sparingly.
Wanted to export them and recoup costs.
Banned by Congress.
They built perfection.
And locked it in a hangar because the maintenance budget couldn’t handle it.
Now the Air Force talks about the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter.
NGAD. The F-22 replacement.
Except they’re pausing that program too.
Because it’s going to be even more expensive.
So they’re stuck.
Can’t afford the fighter they have.
Can’t afford the fighter they want.
Can’t sell the fighter to allies.
Can’t build enough to make it sustainable.
The F-22 Raptor is the greatest fighter jet ever made.
And it’s become a warning.
The F-22 Raptor’s high operational costs go beyond just fuel consumption; its advanced stealth coating is a key factor driving maintenance expenses. This radar-absorbent material, crucial for making the jet invisible to enemy radar, requires painstaking manual repair after each flight to maintain its effectiveness. Technicians must spend approximately 30 hours restoring the stealth coating for every hour that the aircraft is airborne, highlighting the immense labor involved. This extreme maintenance commitment directly impacts the aircraft’s mission readiness, with only about 49% of the fleet typically available for deployment at any time. The remainder often undergoes repairs or waits for specialized parts, which are costly and difficult to replace because the F-22 uses unique components without any commonality with other aircraft. Since production ended in 2011, the Air Force must fabricate parts from scratch or cannibalize other Raptors to keep the jets operational. Congress’s decision to ban exports of the F-22 has further intensified these logistical burdens. Close allies like Japan, Australia, Israel, and South Korea expressed interest in purchasing the aircraft, but concerns about releasing technologically advanced capabilities and security risks led to the disallowance of foreign sales. This lack of export opportunities means the United States cannot share maintenance responsibilities or offset the enormous development costs, resulting in the Air Force shouldering the entire financial and operational load alone. Meanwhile, the F-35 program has thrived due to its significantly lower costs and wide international adoption. Fifteen countries operate the F-35, benefiting from economies of scale and shared upgrades, whereas only the United States flies the F-22. The F-22 was originally envisioned to dominate air superiority in the 21st century, but these financial and maintenance challenges have relegated it to flying sparingly rather than continuously. Looking forward, the Air Force’s plan for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, which aims to replace the F-22, faces similar cost challenges, leading to program pauses and uncertainty. As it stands, the F-22 Raptor serves as a cautionary example of how cutting-edge technology, while unparalleled in capability, can become unsustainable if operational and support costs are not fully addressed. This balance between technological advancement and economic viability remains a critical consideration in the future development of military aircraft.
