Key Points and Summary – A recent mention of a new “F-22 Super” refers not to a resurrected production line, but to the crucial ongoing modernization program for the existing F-22 Raptor fleet.
-Key upgrades include a new infrared sensor suite (IRDS) to improve survivability and new stealthy, low-drag external fuel tanks designed to extend the F-22’s combat range.
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 F-22 Aerial Demonstration Team highlights cutting-edge airpower, precision, skill, all while reinforcing public confidence in the Air Force’s ability to protect and defend. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren Cobin)
-This “Super” upgrade package is strategically vital to close the performance gap with rivals like China’s long-range J-20 and ensure the Raptor remains dominant until the 6th-generation F-47 NGAD arrives later this decade.
What Exactly Is This “F-22 Super” Fighter?
In May, United States President Donald J. Trump raised a few military aviation buffs’ eyebrows during a trip to Qatar, when he hinted at a plan for modernizing the US Armed Forces’ fighter jet fleet via the so-called “F-22 Super” and “F-55.”
What exactly is this F-22 Super that the POTUS is referring to? Is the F-22 Raptor—like the mythical phoenix—resurrecting itself from its own proverbial ashes long after then-US Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Bob Gates made the incredibly boneheaded decision back in 2009 to kill the Raptor after only 187 airframes were built out of the original 381 planned?
Or is something slightly more mundane than that (whilst still highly noteworthy all the same)?
The Basics on F-22 Super
The baseline story comes to us in a May 15, 2025, article in Axios, penned by Colin Demarest, titled “Trump wants two new cutting-edge fighter jets: F-22 Super and F-55.”
To wit: “Why it matters: Trump’s comments during a stop in Qatar were the first time either potential aircraft has been publicly mentioned. Such major, multibillion-dollar endeavors are not pulled from thin air, suggesting some legwork may already be underway … It’s a boost for Lockheed Martin, which makes both the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II, which the president suggested would be upgraded … Trump made the comments in Doha, Qatar, while flanked by Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp … The F-22 Super will be ‘a very modern version’ of the existing fighter, he said, and the F-55 will have twin engines.”
Digging Deeper
So then, judging by the final sentence of that quoted passage, it looks like the F-22 Super (or “Super Raptor” if you prefer) is in fact going to be an upgraded version of existing warbird airframes rather than a wholly newly built-from-scratch F-22 variant akin to, say, the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II offspring of the F-15E Strike Eagle.
And these upgrades are already well underway:
-Back on January 22, 2025, Lockheed Martin published a press release noting that the warbird will be receiving the Infrared Defensive System (IRDS), a newly developed, distributed set of embedded Tactical Infrared Search and Track (TacIRST) sensors to enhance the plane’s survivability and lethality. Hank Tucker, Lockheed Martin’s Hank Tucker, vice president of Missions Systems, stated at the time, “We understand the need for advanced and versatile infrared systems like IRDS that will make pilots’ missions more survivable and lethal against current and future adversaries. We’re committed to supporting the Air Force through continuous innovation of capabilities to deter and defeat evolving threats.”
Meanwhile, Justin Taylor, LM’s vice president of the F-22 program at the time (and now vice president of Skunk Works as a whole) added: “Lockheed Martin is proud to continue partnering with the Air Force on essential modernization efforts for the Raptor, leveraging our expertise in 5th Generation aircraft and air dominance systems to integrate capabilities that ensure uninterrupted U.S. air superiority today and into the future.”
F-22A Raptor with YF-118G Overhead. Image Credit: National Security Journal.
-The “Super” upgrades will include new drop tanks that not only extend the range of the Raptor (though exact numbers have not been made available yet) but are also stealthier, thus providing a highly desirable twofer for the men and women who fly the plane. (Apparently, when it comes to 5th Generation fighter jets, you *can* have your cake and eat it too.)
This improvement is designated Low Drag Tanks and Pylons (LDTP). According to the Air Force’s 2026 Fiscal Year budget request (as quoted by Joseph Trevithick in a 2 July 2025 article for TWZ), “The low drag tanks are intended to minimally increase drag for external tank carriage, facilitate supersonic flight with external tanks and extend the range of the F-22. The pylons are equipped with smart rack pneumatic technology to accurately control ejection performance and maintain minimum drag without stores.”
Why the “F-22 Super” Matters
In its current, “Non-Super” (so to speak) form, the Raptor has a ferry range of 1,740 nautical miles (2,000 statute miles, 3,220 kilometers) and a combat range of 750 nautical miles (863 statute miles, 1,389 kilometers) with 100 nautical miles in supercruise whilst employing two 600-gallon (2,271-liter) tanks. Considering that China’s Chengdu J-20 Wēilóng (“Mighty Dragon;” NATO reporting name “Fagin”) stealth fighter has a respective ferry range and combat range of 3,000 nautical miles (3,400 statute miles, 5,500 kilometers) and 1,100 nautical miles (1,200 statute miles, 2,000 kilometers), this is a trifle concerning.
Meanwhile, whilst the US Air Force’s 6th Generation F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program is already well underway, it realistically may not go operational until 2029.
Ergo, the F-22 is going to need to be every little bitty upgrade it can accommodate, lest the People’s Republic of China choose to invade Taiwan prior to the NGAD’s operational debut.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU).
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