Key Points and Summary – Lockheed Martin is pushing to expand F-22 modernization to include 35 older Block 20 trainers—saving them from scrapping—and to pursue a broader “fifth-gen-plus” path for the F-35.
-Skunk Works’ OJ Sanchez says discussions are underway to fold Block 20s into upgrades already hitting Block 30/35 jets (open mission systems, new IR defenses, radar/EW enhancements).
U.S. Air Force Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team commander, performs an aerial maneuver during the Cocoa Beach air show in Florida, July 12, 2025. The team joined the community in celebrating Cocoa Beach’s 100th anniversary, marking a century of coastal heritage and patriotic spirit, while showcasing the unmatched power, agility, and precision of America’s fifth-generation fighter and reinforcing public trust in the Air Force’s mission to fly, fight, and win. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren Cobin)
-CEO James Taiclet touts a “Ferrari” F-35 concept: selected 6th-gen sensors, processors, EW, teaming and weapons to deliver ~80% of next-gen capability at far lower cost.
-With Boeing’s F-47 NGAD now being built and targeted to fly in 2028, upgraded F-22s/F-35s would serve as the Pentagon’s bridging fleet against rising J-20/Su-57 threats.
Lockheed Has Plans to Modernize Older F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighters
Lockheed Martin is reportedly discussing plans to extend the scope of existing F-22 upgrade plans in a similar strategy to its proposed F-35 upgrade program.
Speaking at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in Maryland on Monday, September 22, a Skunk Works official revealed plans to save F-22s slated for scrapping.
OJ Sanchez, the vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s secretive research and development team, revealed that discussions are underway to expand planned upgrades for the F-22 Raptor to include the older Block 20 aircraft that is currently used for training purposes.
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor performs an aerial demonstration during Aviation Nation 2025 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, April 5, 2025. Aviation Nation is an airshow held at Nellis Air Force Base, showcasing the pride, precision and capabilities of the U.S. Air Force through aerial demonstrations and static displays. The F-22 Raptor performed there to highlight its unmatched agility and air dominance as part of the Air Force’s efforts to inspire, recruit and connect with the public. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren Cobin)
How to Save Old F-22 Raptor Fighters
A total of 35 of these earlier F-22 variants remain in use and were originally slated to be destroyed.
If Lockheed gets its way, however, the manufacturer plans to expand the scope of ongoing upgrades to include Raptors built during the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase in the early 2000s.
Specifically, Sanchez described “conversations around whether there is an opportunity to take the Block 20 fleet and continue to expand.” Sanchez said that the idea is not new, but stressed that he is hopeful the Trump administration will now seriously consider it.
Currently, the F-22 Raptor upgrade program is focused primarily on the more recent Block 30 and 35 jets, incorporating modern technology into a platform developed in the 1990s and first introduced in 2005.
“The F-22 continues to be central to the U.S. Air Force’s force structure, and the ability to keep it at the forefront of the fight is paramount,” Sanchez said. “The F-22 program at Skunk Works is doing that.”
F-22 Raptor at the U.S. Air Force Museum.
How the F-22 Stays So Powerful
Sanchez described how more modern Raptors are currently in a “hefty modernization” phase, with much of the work focusing on software.
As with similar upgrade programs for American air, sea, and land-based military hardware, a focus on open mission systems architecture ensures that upgraded platforms can be more readily upgraded in the future.
Lockheed’s idea to widen the F-22 package to include older Block 20 trainers is part of a broader corporate strategy: to stretch existing fleets with upgrades rather than wait for all-new airframes to be commissioned as part of a next-generation development program.
F-35 Also Could Get Big Updates in ‘Ferrari’ Program
The Air Force’s freshly upgraded F-22 fleet will include new IR defensive systems, radar enhancements, and more – and the U.S. Air Force’s willingness to stack new survivability layers on legacy stealth systems is evident not just in negotiations over the F-22, but in active discussions about broadening the scope of F-35 upgrade plans.
Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet has said on multiple occasions this year that the company aims to develop a fifth-gen-plus “Ferrari” F-35 that integrates selected sixth-gen technology to deliver “80% of six-gen capability at half the price.”
Taiclet has described how an enhanced F-35 chassis could handle sensor, processor, electronic warfare, teaming, and weapons upgrades at scale, providing the U.S. Air Force with access to a large fleet of aircraft built on a trusted and established platform, featuring next-generation capabilities.
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley conference earlier this month, Taiclet revealed that Lockheed is in “very active” talks with the Pentagon about the idea, confirming that the Trump White House is seriously considering additional upgrades as part of a bridging strategy.
While the U.S. Air Force awaits the F-47, and as the U.S. Navy recommits to the F/A-XX program with restored funding, the Pentagon is seriously considering further upgrades to protect American air dominance at a time when China and Russia are rapidly modernizing their own air fleets.
“There’s a very active engagement at an extremely high level with the Department of Defense, and I expect it’ll be taken to the White House sometime soon, hopefully, to consider this kind of concept,” Taiclet said to investors. “We’ve gotten encouraging feedback…there’s significant interest in the government about discussing aircraft modernization writ large, all the way up to the administration level, the White House level, and we’re in the middle of that with them, and we’re getting heard. We’re hearing back, and it’s pretty active.”
The Air Force Has Much to Consider
For the Air Force, the stakes are high – but particularly so when it comes to the F-22.
Though the fleet is capped at just under 190 combat-coded aircraft, the Raptor remains the service’s only dedicated air-dominance platform.
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to the 3rd Wing conducts flight operations at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Sept. 28, 2023. The F-22 Raptor is a critical component of the Global Strike Task Force, and is designed to project air dominance rapidly and at great distances to defeat threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Julia Lebens)
Retiring or limiting portions of that fleet, such as the 35 Block 20s still on hand, would shrink an already finite force at a time when Chinese J-20s are entering service in squadron numbers and Russia is pressing ahead with its own Su-57 deployments.
Preserving older Raptors through modernization, Lockheed argues, ensures that the U.S. can maintain its fighter numbers while it waits on the still-nascent F-47.
With Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin confirming this week that the first F-47 is already under construction and expected to fly in 2028, upgraded F-22s and F-35s are set to serve as a bridging fleet, integrating sixth-generation technology into proven fifth-generation platforms—assuming the Pentagon approves Lockheed’s proposals.
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 works to analyze and understand 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.
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JaKcKc
September 25, 2025 at 10:51 am
Just think the Air Force spoke with one voice screaming they needed 783 of these! Then was 383 and then finally 190. But they wasted how many billions on 35 aircraft they never intended to use in a fight? There was a study in 2003 that indicated that the cost to equip all the frontline soldiers and Marines fighting and dying in SWA with the best equipment and weapons available would have cost less than the production cost of one these! So the individuals actually fighting and dying for America are worth less than the cost of one of these aircraft we never intended to use in battle? Now you want to spend an enormous amount of money on aircraft the Air Force didn’t care enough to move out of the way of Hurricane Micheal! At the cost of $5 billion in damages reported by the Air Force at the time. Again on aircraft never intended for use in combat?