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Raptor could hatch a delta bomber
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| 24 May 2002 |
By Bill Sweetman
Lockheed Martin has briefed the USAF on a radically modified version of the F-22 Raptor fighter with a delta wing, longer body and greater range and payload.
A company-funded study of the so-called FB-22 will continue throughout this year.
The FB-22, as its designation suggests, is clearly a bomber. Operations over Afghanistan have driven home the fact that bases close to many potential targets may never be open to US combat aircraft. Apart from extreme-range operations by F-15Es, USAF fighters have been relatively little used in that theater, and much of the burden has been carried by B-52s and B-1s.
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| Tailless FB-22 would offer lower RCS and reduced weight and drag. This configuration is being seriously studied. (Source: Lockheed Martin/art: J Pye/Jane's) |