Summary and Key Points: The United States Air Force's fleet includes some of the world's most advanced aircraft, essential for maintaining air superiority. The F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, B-2 Spirit, B-21 Raider, and B-52 Stratofortress are key platforms.
-Each offers unique capabilities, from the F-22's unmatched stealth and maneuverability to the B-52's long-range nuclear delivery.
-As global threats evolve, these aircraft continue to be central to U.S. defense, with future advancements in the B-21 and continued reliance on the B-52 highlighting the ongoing need for air dominance.
As a core pillar of any Western air force, gaining and maintaining air superiority has regularly been prioritized in America’s military doctrine.
The Pentagon has invested billions of dollars into developing advanced airframes across each service and the U.S. has benefitted from having air superiority over its adversaries for decades.
Although nations including China and Russia, have modernized their own aerial capabilities in recent years, certain U.S. platforms flown by the Air Force and Navy represent some of the world’s best aircraft across the globe.
As the world’s first fifth-generation fighter to ever fly the skies, the F-22 Raptor is largely touted as the most advanced platform in service today.
The Raptor was the first operational fighter to combine stealth, supermaneuverability, supercruise, and sensor fusion in a single platform. Back in 1997, the Air Force’s infamous jet took its first flight with the service and continues to wow aviation buffs more than two decades later.
The Raptor’s smaller radar cross-section and twin thrust-vectoring F119 turbofan engines are perhaps the fighter’s greatest assets. Its thrust-vectoring capacity allows the Raptor to outperform any other jet in a dogfight since it can redirect the flow of energy that enables the airframe to do the remarkable acrobatics it is known for.
Ordnance-wise, the F-22 can sport two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles in its twin internal side weapon bays in addition to six AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided air-to-air missiles or 2 AIM-120 AMRAAM and two GBU-32 JDAM munitions in its central weapons bay.
America’s newest fifth-generation fighter, the F-35 Lightning II, is undoubtedly the most coveted tactical jet worldwide.
Foreign militaries are hankering to get their hands on the formidable and stealthy fighter that essentially embodies the functions of three planes in a single platform.
The “Joint Strike Fighter” was initially designed to replace the U.S. Marine Corps’ F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier, the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18, and the U.S. Air Force’s A-10 and F-16 airframes. Depending on the variant, the highly versatile fighter can do it all, including conventional takeoff and landing and aircraft carrier landings.
The Lightning II is best known for its “beast mode” capabilities. Essentially, the fighter can load up on munitions on its external weapons pylons and turn the craft into a “bomb truck.” Beast mode does, however, compromise the stealth ability of the airframe.
While in stealth mode, the F-35 is limited to the weapons it can carry internally, protected by a radar-evading fuselage. In beast mode, however, the F-35 can sport nearly four times more ordinance by using its external mounts, which carry upwards of 22,000 pounds of weaponry. Although the Lightning II is a relatively new fighter, over 900 airframes have been exported, indicating the jet’s remarkable popularity across the globe.
While the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is over 30 years old, the strategic platform remains a powerhouse in the sky. The aging airframe will eventually be replaced by the newer and more advanced B-21 Raider, however, the aircraft represents the most lethal bomber across the globe today.
Since its introduction into service during the Cold War, the B-2 has proved itself in numerous combat operations in locales ranging from Libya and Kosovo to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Spirit was designed to penetrate anti-aircraft defenses and remains the only acknowledged platform that can sport large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
According to the Air Force, the blending of the Spirit’s low-observable technologies with high aerodynamic efficiency and greater payload gives the airframe a significant advantage over near-peer bombers. “The B-2's low observability is derived from a combination of reduced infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, visual, and radar signatures.
These signatures make it difficult for the sophisticated defensive systems to detect, track and engage the B-2. Many aspects of the low-observability process remain classified; however, the B-2's composite materials, special coatings and flying-wing design all contribute to its stealthiness."
As the first component of the U.S. nuclear deterrent’s $1 trillion overhaul, the Raider is expected to single-handedly elevate the U.S. military’s aerial dominance. The Northrop Grumman-designed platform will carry both conventional and nuclear arms, giving it an “edge that will last for decades,” according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Similar to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Raider will operate like an “airborne data hub.” Many of the details surrounding the B-21 Raider remain classified.
Although the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of B-52 airframes has been in service for almost 70 years, the formidable platform continues to represent the mainstay of the service’s bomber fleet. Even with the eventual addition of the B-21 Raider into the mix, the Stratofortress will continue to serve as a significant deterrent to China and other U.S. adversaries.
The bomber has an honorable track record, operating during the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Second Gulf War, and Afghanistan. The current B-52 can fly nearly 9,000 miles before needing to refuel. Along with its nuclear delivery capabilities, the platform can launch stand-off cruise missiles.
This very old platform is expected to fly the skies into the 2050s.
As tensions continue to soar between the U.S. and China, prospects for a future kinetic conflict increase. American airframes possess a range of sophisticated and unique capabilities; however, Beijing has been rapidly modernizing its Air Force over the last decade. The U.S. isn’t the only producer of fifth-generation airframes anymore, making its next generation of planes even more vital.
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel.
All images are Creative Commons.
