officials have occasionally pondered restarting production of the plane, but the efforts never materialized. Contractor Lockheed Martin delivered the final F-22 to the Air Force in 2012.

Raptors have also deployed to the Middle East to deter Iran.Дecades ago, the Air Force envisioned a fleet of 750 Raptors, but the fleet was capped at just 187 jets. Instead, the plane made its combat debut over Syria in 2014. The F-22, built to dominate Soviet warplanes in air-to-air dogfights, has never shot down an enemy plane in combat. вЂњHow the service justifies acquiring a new combat-equipped 4th-gen platformвЂќ - the F-15EX - defies logic, he said. вЂњThe F-35 was supposed to replace the F-16 and the A-10,вЂќ Venable noted. вЂњThe numbers of tactical airframes are already too small and the service can't afford to suffer another cost-saving move that results in it getting even smaller.вЂќ вЂњThey never get the numbers they expect when they downsize to save money first,вЂќ said John вЂњJVвЂќ Venable, a former F-16 pilot and a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Center for National Defense. One analyst cautioned against overestimating the potential savings of retiring jets. That's probably six, seven, eight years away into the future,вЂќ he said.

But I don't need to make that decision today.

вЂњItвЂ™s really designed to help me build out вЂ™23,вЂќ Brown said.Д«rown said the service is still considering what will be the replacement for the F-16, вЂњwhether it's additional F-35, or something else into the future. The study is not expected to shape the Air ForceвЂ™s fiscal year 2022 budget request. Okay, my intent is to get down to about four.вЂќ вЂњBut I want to get us shaped in a direction, because right now we have seven fighter fleets. вЂњI'm really looking for a window of options, because the facts and assumptions based on a threat will change over time,вЂќ he said. Last year, Air Force leaders hinted that they might buy the F-15EX not just to replace older F-15Cs but also the 218 newer F-15E Strike Eagles.Д«rown said the Air Force is determining the right mix of fighters through an internal tactical air study that all of the services are participating in, to look вЂњacross the board, all of our combat aircraft, our attack, our fighter portfolio.вЂќ But the F-22 has faced low mission capability rates, in part due to structural upgrades that often take multiple aircraft offline. They are just 12 years old on average, Heritage reported, making the type among the youngest in the fleet. The Air Force currently has 186 F-22s, according to a Heritage Foundation count in November. The F-22 will be replaced by the NGAD jet, which will fly alongside the вЂњF-35, which will be the cornerstone, F-15EX as we come in, and then we'll have F-16 for a while as well,вЂќ Brown said. вЂњMy intent is to get down to about four, OK, and with that four, what is the right mix?вЂќД«rown said the fighter makeup is вЂњreally a four-plus-one, because we're going to have the A-10 for a while as we re-wingвЂќ the venerable Warthog to extend its service life into the 2030s. вЂњRight now we have seven fighter fleets,вЂќ Brown said. CQ Brown, Air Force chief of staff, said at a McAleese and Associates virtual conference.

Those four will be the F-35, F-15EX, F-16, and the Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, fighter, Gen. Air Force aims to pare its fighter fleet to just four types - and the F-22 Raptor wonвЂ™t be among them, the serviceвЂ™s top general said Wednesday.

F 22 raptor facts