Trump's aviation promise: Super F‑22 and new F‑55 unveiled
After announcing the name of the F-47 aircraft, developed under the NGAD programme, Donald Trump has announced additional machines for the U.S. Air Force. The American president declared in Qatar his intention to modernise the F-22 and also to build the F-55 aircraft, which is 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, expected to undergo significant modernisation, resulting in the "Super F-22."
The U.S. president's declaration contradicts the current position of the Pentagon, which has already begun the process of gradually phasing out the Raptors. Although these machines are over 30 years old, they still outperform potential adversaries. This is evidenced by, among other things, 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 (including prototypes, 196 aircraft were built) and even fewer remaining in service, this makes the entire endeavour 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 machines and eventually replace them with the result of the NGAD programme, which is the F-47 aircraft. Hence, Donald Trump's statement, announcing a significant modernisation (which would involve keeping these machines 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 reconstruction, is 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 machines of this type are produced in three versions:
- 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, thereby increasing the amount of armament carried, extending its range, and possibly improving performance related to flight dynamics. These issues were not elaborated on by Donald Trump, and the idea was summarised with a brief statement.
Since the presidential declaration is not accompanied by any technical details, it leaves room for wide speculation. Adding a second engine to an aircraft long designed as a single-engine means a very significant change and an engagement of resources comparable to the designing of a new machine.
It is also unknown whether the declarations pertain to – 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 modernisation of American combat aircraft.
