America’s F-22 Raptors Are Finally Getting an Upgrade

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US Air Force F-22s have been spotted with new “stealth pods”—slightly increasing their radar profile, but giving them important new detection capabilities.

For the first time in decades, the F-22 Raptor has received a visible upgrade. New stealth pods and stealth tanks (the Low Drag Tank and Pylon or LDTP) were spotted on the aircraft recently, marking the biggest external change to the F-22’s distinctive silhouette since its debut in 2005. The change is substantive in nature, aimed at keeping the F-22 relevant as competing Chinese fifth-generation threats emerge.

How the F-22’s New “Stealth Pods” Keep It Relevant

The F-22 is likely still the best air superiority fighter jet in the world. When it was introduced, it was an anomaly—far stronger than anything else in any nation’s air arsenal, making it difficult to draw comparisons to. The Pentagon’s decision to suspend production after only 187 planes had been built, citing the program’s high cost, has only added to its mystique; the........

© The National Interest