Trump unveils ambitious plan for future Air Force fleet
After announcing the name of the F-47 aircraft, developed under the NGAD program, Donald Trump reveals additional aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. The American president declared in Qatar the intention to modernize the F-22 and also to build the F-55 aircraft, a twin-engine version of the F-35.
The presidential announcements concern two types of aircraft currently operated by the U.S. Air Force. The first of these is the F-22 Raptor. The air superiority fighter is, according to Donald Trump, set to undergo significant modernization, resulting in the "Super F-22".
The U.S. president's declaration contradicts the current position of the Pentagon, which has already started the process of gradually phasing out the Raptors. These aircraft, although over 30 years old, still outperform potential adversaries. This is supported by unofficial information regarding Raptor operations over Syria.
However, the aircraft's age, particularly its avionics, makes any potential upgrades very costly. With a small number of them produced (196 aircraft were built, including prototypes) and even fewer remaining in service, this makes the entire endeavor economically unviable.
Donald Trump announces Super F-22
Especially since F-22s have not been produced since 2011, their production line has been dismantled, and the age of the aircraft generates increasing operational costs.
In such a situation, the decision was made to gradually phase out these aircraft and eventually replace them with the result of the NGAD program, which is the F-47 aircraft. Therefore, Donald Trump's statement, announcing a significant modernization (which would involve keeping these aircraft in service), is quite surprising.
F-55: a twin-engine version of the F-35
The second aircraft announced by the American president is the F-55. This name refers to a twin-engine variant of the F-35, which, after modifications, is intended to become a 5+ generation aircraft and offer 80 per cent of the capabilities of the F-47, a 6th generation aircraft. The currently used versions of this aircraft are:
- F-35A – the basic variant, on which the Israeli version F-35I is based;
- F-35B – the vertical take-off and landing variant;
- F-35C – the carrier variant, designed for aircraft carriers
Adding a second engine would likely increase the aircraft's payload capacity, allowing it to carry more armaments, extend its range, and potentially improve performance related to flight dynamics. Donald Trump did not elaborate on these aspects, summing up the idea with a brief statement:
Since the presidential declaration lacks technical details, it leaves room for wide speculation. Adding a second engine to an aircraft long designed as single-engine involves a very significant change and a commitment of resources comparable to designing a new machine.
It is also unclear whether these declarations represent – which cannot be ruled out – the American president's vision of the future air force equipment or if they refer to actual ongoing work related to the significant modernization of American combat aircraft.
