The United States Air Force’s fleet of F-22 Raptor fighters is benefiting significantly from a new approach to maintenance and servicing: an all-digital strategy that will squeeze the most life possible from some of the world’s highest-performance jet engines.
Using a raft of advanced diagnostic and evaluation equipment, the flying branch hopes to keep its F-22s airborne into the 2030s — and long enough to overlap with the upcoming F-47 sixth-generation stealth fighter.
Zooming Forward
U.S. Air Force Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, pilot and commander of the F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team, performs an aerial demonstration during the 52nd Annual SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida, April 14, 2026. Capt. Le Tourneau showcased the unmatched capabilities of the F-22 to the SUN ‘n FUN crowds by performing multiple series of combat maneuvers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Mary Bowers)
U.S. Air Force Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, pilot and commander of the F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team, performs an aerial demonstration during the 52nd Annual SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida, April 15, 2026. Capt. Le Tourneau showcased the unmatched capabilities of the F-22 to the SUN ‘n FUN crowds by performing multiple series of combat maneuvers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Mary Bowers)
This is part of work previously announced by the U.S. Air Force and Pratt & Whitney in 2025.
“We’re currently in discussions with the Air Force and Lockheed [Martin] about initiating another update,” Caroline Cooper, then-executive director of the F119 program, explained to Air & Space Forces Magazine in 2025. Cooper also said that the F-22 “is undergoing modernization efforts, and as new capabilities are fitted in the airframe… the engine will play a critical role in supporting them.”
While the winner of the NGAD program, today dubbed the F-47 by the United States Air Force and the successor to the Raptor, was not yet announced in February of 2025, there was — and is — still debate about how to squeeze as much operational life from the United States rather small Raptor fleet as possible, efforts that may see that bird of prey flying until sometime during the next decade.
In addition to improved onboard sensors, reduced radar cross section, and boosted fuel capacity with stealth-compliant conformal fuel tanks, the jet’s engines will also receive attention from Pratt & Whitney.
Usage-Based Life data tracking is key to their projected longevity gains.
“Pratt & Whitney has lowered costs on its F119 engines through its ongoing Usage-Based Life program, which leverages real-time data to enhance maintenance efficiency and extend engine life, while also improving the engine’s kinematic performance with an engine control schedule update,” RTX, Pratt & Whitney’s parent company, explained in a press release announcing the agreement, for $1.5 billion, from the Pentagon. “This latest contract will continue these readiness and cost savings efforts with a focus on safety, availability, simplicity of maintenance, and modernization initiatives.”
Furthermore, the company explained, the agreement will “improve readiness and reduce costs for an F119 fleet of more than 400 engines that have flown over 900,000 engine flight hours.”
Usage-Based Lifing
Usage-Based Lifing, or UBL, is a method of maintenance that replaces assumptions about components and subsystems based on flight-hours of use or calendar dates with actual operating conditions and real-time data gleaned by sensors.
By intensively analyzing flight data, like temperatures, altitudes, mission profiles, and actual in-flight conditions, accurate estimates of the condition of individual components can be assessed extremely accurately — with particularly good application cases to fighter jets.
The high-performance jet engines that fighters use to propel themselves to speed endure violent stressors, including mechanical and thermal loading.
Two otherwise identical aircraft may consume components at extremely different rates depending on whether they are flying training sorties, ground-attack missions, or other operations.
Conventional maintenance schedules assume a highly demanding, worst-case scenario mission.
And while extremely safe, some consumable components inevitably are replaced despite potentially retaining a substantial amount of safe, usable life.
Usage-Based Lifing instead tracks real damage or wear accrued by parts using a variety of sensors and diagnostic technologies, scheduling maintenance or inspection only when required.
For engines like the pair of Pratt & Whitney F119S that power each F-22 Raptor, UBL can extend time on wing, reduce unnecessary maintenance, and extend aircraft availability without making dangerous compromises to pilot or aircraft safety.
Individual components are therefore used much closer to their true capacity while remaining safe and high-performance.
Into the Future: Usage-Based Lifing on Other Platforms?
Speaking to Air & Space Forces Magazine, Cooper explained that the Usage-Based Lifing testing regime could be applied to other platforms too, with strong potential to extend aircraft service lifespans.
One of the platforms mentioned specifically was another stealth fighter widely in service with the United States Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, as well as in several other militaries around the world: the F-35 family of aircraft.
UBLS, Cooper said, applies to the F135 engine, a derivative of the F119 used by the F-35. Cooper added that 3D manufacturing of some parts for the Raptor’s F119 engine could be another cost-saving measure integrated into F-22 operations.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines in Donbas and writing about its civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
