Timeline F-22 Raptor

F-22 Raptor 12

• 1981 Advanced Tactical Fighter programme begins Replacing the F-15 The US Air Force sets out requirements for a stealthy successor to the F-15 — the start of the F-22.
• 1990 YF-23 first flight Northrop's rival Northrop's YF-23, often judged stealthier and faster than the YF-22, flies in the ATF competition.
• 1990 YF-22 first flight Advanced Tactical Fighter The Lockheed, Boeing and General Dynamics YF-22 prototype flies, competing with Northrop's YF-23 for the Air Force's next air superiority fighter.
• 1991 YF-22 wins the ATF competition YF-22 over YF-23 The Air Force picks the YF-22 over the YF-23, judging it the lower-risk design.
• 1997 F-22 Raptor first flight Marietta, Georgia The first production-representative F-22 flies from Lockheed's plant in Marietta, Georgia.
• 2005 F-22 enters service 1st Fighter Wing, Langley The F-22 is declared operational at Langley — the world's first fifth-generation fighter in service.
• 2009 Gates caps the F-22 fleet 187 operational aircraft Defense Secretary Robert Gates ends F-22 purchases at 187 operational aircraft, a fraction of the original plan.
• 2011 F-22 fleet grounded Oxygen system problems The entire F-22 fleet is grounded for months after pilots report hypoxia-like symptoms.
• 2011 Last F-22 rolls off the line 195 built Production ends after 195 aircraft, down from the 750 once planned, after the Pentagon capped the fleet in 2009.
• 2014 The Raptor's first combat mission Strikes in Syria F-22s drop precision-guided bombs on Islamic State targets in Syria, the type's combat debut nine years after entering service.
• 2018 Hurricane Michael hits Tyndall F-22s damaged Hurricane Michael wrecks Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, damaging F-22s that could not be flown out before the storm.
• 2023 F-22 shoots down a Chinese balloon Off South Carolina An F-22 downs a Chinese high-altitude balloon off the South Carolina coast with an AIM-9X missile — the Raptor's first air-to-air kill.