Known as the myth of fighter jets, the F22A once confidently claimed to be invincible in 50 years. To this day, however, the former hegemon faces an embarrassing reality. After more than 20 years of wear and tear, the F22A fleet has shrunk significantly, and there are very few fighters that can actually carry out combat readiness missions. Even the superpower air force admits that more than 40 F22As are no longer able to rise into the air again and can only exist as spare parts**.
The problem is that these spare aircraft are also running out of spare parts**. The production line had been shut down for more than a decade and could not provide new parts. In desperation, maintenance crews had to disassemble parts from a batch of F22A that could not be lifted into the air. As a result, a number of key components of the F22A were dismantled and fewer, and there was no hope of repair.
Even some F22A, which are still barely on duty, find it difficult to adapt to the modern air combat environment. Although the F22A once led the world in the use of active phased array radar, high-thrust fourth-generation aero engines and advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and other top-level equipment, the years have not forgived people, and these advanced equipment can no longer exist independently of the times.
The F22A's internal avionics architecture is based on the traditional 1553B data bus, and the information transmission speed is only 1 megabit per second, which is stuck in the 3G era. In contrast, from the F35 to the latest improved F15EX, and even the 3rd, 1/2nd and 5th generation aircraft of other top powers, have adopted advanced optically controlled fiber optic buses, with signal transmission speeds of up to more than 50G.
What is puzzling is that as the world's number one aviation power, why not carry out a comprehensive technical upgrade of these 180 F22A?The answer is that the upgrade process is a mess. Replacing the bus architecture with a new bus architecture means that both the internal hardware and software of the F22A must be updated. In addition, the F22A's unique liquid helium cooling system and the discontinued F119 engine make a full upgrade likely to cost much more than expected.
Still, the F22A fleet has not been completely unupgraded over the past 20 years. For example, the addition of large-capacity oxygen cylinders in the cockpit has alleviated the symptoms of dizziness when pilots fly at high altitudes. However, this is only a minor fix for F22A, and it is difficult to hide its overall decline.
The fate of the F22A underscores the importance of the replacement of military equipment. The myths of the past are now in trouble, and people can't help but sigh. However, it also warns us that only by making continuous progress can we remain invincible in the fierce international competition.