Key Points and Summary: With the 6th-generation NGAD fighter facing delays and budget questions, the U.S. is pivoting to “Super” F-22 and F-35 upgrades of its existing stealth fleet.
-The “Super” F-22: A major structural refresh featuring new stealth materials, powerful onboard processors, and NGAD-derived electronic warfare systems to extend the Raptor’s dominance for decades.
An F-35 Lightning II connects to a KC-10 Extender fuel injection arm to refuel during an aerial training mission, during Operation Astral Knight 19 over the Adriatic Sea, June 3, 2019. Astral Knight is a joint, multinational exercise taking place throughout various locations in Europe, with more than 900 Airmen participating in the exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua R. M. Dewberry)
-The “Ferrari” F-35: A proposed “5th-Gen-Plus” variant offering 80% of 6th-gen capability at half the cost, with new engines, advanced sensors, and loyal wingman integration.
-The Strategy: These upgrades provide a critical bridge, ensuring air superiority against China’s J-20 and J-35 while buying time for next-gen platforms to mature.
The “Super” F-22 and “Ferrari” F-35 Are No-Brainers For Washington
As global conflicts have escalated in recent years, the prospect of waiting even longer for the arrival of sixth-generation combat jets has become increasingly alarming for the West.
Rather than waiting for NGAD and whatever sixth-generation aircraft to arrive from Europe, the conversation has increasingly shifted towards upgrading fifth-generation jets and fielding proven platforms with new capabilities much more quickly.
Shown is a graphical artist rendering of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Platform. The rendering highlights the Air Force’s sixth generation fighter, the F-47. The NGAD Platform will bring lethal, next-generation technologies to ensure air superiority for the Joint Force in any conflict. (U.S. Air Force graphic)
For the United States, that means exploring proposals from the world’s biggest and best defense companies, including Lockheed Martin and its Skunk Works Division.
There has been talk about revamping legacy stealth fighters into far more capable platforms, including a so-called “Super” version of the F-22 Raptor and a “Ferrari” variant of the F-35 Lightning II.
While different, the concepts are united by the same aim: to take existing airframes and inject cutting-edge sixth-generation technologies, allowing the U.S. Air Force to maintain dominance while bridging to whatever comes next – whenever it does indeed come.
And as competition with peer rivals accelerates and China rapidly iterates its own advanced fighter jets in record time, the logic is clear: the U.S. must upgrade now to stay ahead and buy time.
Meet the “Super” F-22 and “Ferrari” F-35
The U.S. Air Force is currently considering an ambitious modernization program for the F-22 that seeks to make the jet relevant for decades longer – and not necessarily to serve only as a short-term bridge to the next generation of fighters.
According to recent reports, the USAF may soon receive 32 additional combat-ready Raptors. The upgrade package for the Block 30/35 jets includes enhanced radar and sensor systems, improved stealth coatings, cutting-edge electronic-warfare (EW) suites, and integration into advanced networking and command-and-control architectures. But that’s only the beginning.
The idea of a “Super F-22” is not just a routine upgrade package, but a distinct concept that has circulated inside the Air Force and across the industry since at least the early 2020s and resurfaced again in recent months.
According to reports, Lockheed Martin has proposed a major structural refresh of the F-22, including new stealth materials, redesigned inlets, more powerful onboard processors, and next-generation electronic-warfare systems derived from ongoing Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) work.
While the exact specifications are classified, documents have suggested that the company has explored substantial airframe changes – not just incremental ones – aimed at enabling the jet to carry heavier loads, power-hungry sensors, and new weapons.
On the F-35 side, Lockheed Martin’s CEO has described what he calls a “fifth-generation-plus” upgrade: effectively, a “Ferrari” F-35 that would incorporate technologies developed for its failed sixth-generation fighter bid under the NGAD program.
According to the company, its proposed design would deliver roughly 80 percent of a sixth-generation fighter’s abilities at about half the projected cost.
Specific improvements discussed for the “Ferrari” F-35 include advanced passive infrared search-and-track sensors, upgraded stealth materials, and a new airframe geometry. Next-generation data links and stealthy communication systems would be included, along with expanded weapons compatibility – including for forthcoming long-range air-to-air missile systems.
NGAD F-47 Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Sensor fusion would also make this jet as close as possible to a next-generation system. In some speculative proposals, dramatic changes to its shape have been proposed, including a revised wing and new control-surface geometry that would allow the aircraft to pair better with loyal wingmen drones or autonomous systems.
What It All Means
If both of these “fifth-generation-plus” aircraft arrive, it’s good news for the U.S. Air Force. Both the Super F-22 and Ferrari F-35 would deliver a substantial near-term payoff.
First and foremost, it would dramatically increase the number of combat-ready stealth fighters in the USAF inventory, assuming that they arrive quickly, by converting older airframes or building on proven platforms.
A fleet stocked with these enhanced aircraft would give Washington something it desperately needs to not only stay ahead, but to remain prepared: time.
With NGAD’s schedule still fluid and Europe years away from fielding its own sixth-generation designs – and even knowing what designs they’re going with – upgraded Raptors and F-35s would allow the U.S. to sustain high-end air superiority through the late 2020s and early 2030s without accepting any capability gap.
That matters enormously in a world where China is ramping up J-20 production and accelerating its carrier-borne J-35 program, and where Russia continues to pursue incremental improvements to its Su-57 line.
Su-57 Felon Stealth Fighter. Image Credit: Russian Air Force.
A modernized F-22 and an upgraded F-35 would ensure that the U.S. maintains its lead at a time when its adversaries are working harder and faster than ever to close that gap.
There’s also a geopolitical dimension to this. Fielding a visibly upgraded fifth-generation jet would reassure allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific that Washington can still deliver superior Western airpower even as major modernization programs slip.
In other words, both the Super Raptor and Ferrari F-35 are true no-brainers.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York who writes frequently for National Security Journal. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he analyzes and understands left-wing and right-wing radicalization and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
