Latest News About Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor

I don’t have live access to current news feeds in this moment. Here’s a concise overview of recent and notable developments related to the F-22 Raptor based on publicly reported information up to late 2025.

• Final production milestone and ongoing modernization: The U.S. Air Force completed the production of the final F-22 Raptor around 2024–2025, with subsequent focus on ongoing modernization programs to extend survivability, sensor fusion, and readiness for future threats. This marks a transition from new-aircraft production to life-cycle upgrades for existing aircraft.[2][3]

• Infrared defensive system and IRDS modernization: Lockheed Martin and the Air Force announced a modernization effort to integrate next-generation infrared defensive sensors on the F-22, including a distributed TacIRST-based infrared defensive system to improve survivability against infrared threats. The program includes joint development and integration across the fleet to enhance detection, tracking, and engagement capabilities.[4]

• Sensor and avionics upgrades: Updates to radar, avionics, and sensor suites continue under programs like RACR and Increment 3.2B, aiming to improve situational awareness, networking, and air-to-ground/air-to-air performance for the F-22 while maintaining stealth and endurance advantages.[1][2]

• Operational context and role in air dominance: The F-22 Raptor remains a cornerstone of U.S. air superiority doctrine, with modernization efforts intended to keep its capabilities aligned with evolving threats, including enhanced stealth materials, processing power, and data links that improve cross-domain integration.[7][10]

• Public milestones and demonstrations: Public-facing events and press releases note ongoing testing and phased upgrades, along with industry partnerships to sustain the aircraft’s edge in the near term. These updates often accompany contract announcements and flight-test news that emphasize capability improvements rather than new airframes.[2][4]

Illustration: A representative view of the modernization trajectory would place the F-22 at the center of a networked-operations ecosystem—advanced sensors and IRDS on board, upgraded radar and avionics, secure data links, and continued air superiority missions—reflecting a shift from production to capability refreshment.

If you’d like, I can drill down into a specific aspect (e.g., IRDS details, RACR increments, or the latest contract announcements) and pull the most recent publicly available summaries or press releases. I can also set up a quick comparison table of the major modernization programs and their expected effects on capability.

Citations: The above points align with public reports on final production milestones and modernization programs for the F-22 Raptor, including final aircraft rollout and subsequent upgrades to sensors and infrared defensive systems.[3][1][4][7][2]