The United States Air Force has made another attempt to decommission fifth-generation fighters F-22 Raptor. A new request has been submitted to the US Congress.

What is known

Last year, the US Air Force wanted to get rid of 33 fifth-generation fighters. It was planned that the savings would be directed to other projects, including Next Generation Air Dominance, which is developing a sixth generation fighter. But the US Congress refused.

A year passed and the US Air Force made a second attempt. Now the service is asking for permission to decommission 32 Block 20 level F-22 Raptor fighters. We are talking about single-seat F-22A aircraft, which at this stage are not combat-ready and are used mainly for training purposes. After that, the number will decrease to 151 units.

The F-22 is the first fifth generation fighter. Production began in 1996 and ran until 2011. During this time, 187 aircraft were produced. The only operator of the Raptor is the United States.

Source: Defense News