What is the reason why so many regard the now decades-old F-22 Raptor as the most dominant air dominance platform when it comes to air-to-air superiority? The answer partly resides in the fact that today’s F-22 stealth fighter is quite different from the aircraft which first emerged in 1997. The largest difference with the latest upgraded F-22s may be found in a series of weapons upgrades made possible in recent years through software advances.
The F-22 is now operational with two new weapons, which have been under testing and development for several years now. They are advanced variants of existing weapons - the AIM-9X air-to-air missile and the AIM 120-D.
The new AIM-9X will shoot farther and reach a much larger targeting envelope for pilots. Working with a variety of helmets and display systems, Lockheed Martin developers have added “off-boresight” targeting ability enabling pilots to attack enemies from a wide range of new angles....MORE
