America’s vaunted F-22 Raptor is still the best air-superiority fighter in the world today. It’s fast, it’s agile, it’s as good as invisible, and it’s more than a match for any other fighter aircraft made and flying anywhere in the world today.
Now it’s getting better, with the addition of stealthy underwing fuel tanks, which will extend its range, and likewise stealthy underwing sensor pods. The Raptor 2.0 is coming.
When it comes to the new underwing stores for the F-22, these are capabilities that have been in development for years now. However, the Air Force and prime contractor Lockheed Martin have only recently begun to talk about them openly. The tanks and pods are part of a larger upgrade plan for the Air Force’s F-22 fleet, which Lockheed is also now referring to as “Raptor 2.0.” The complete package also includes a new Infrared Defensive System (IRDS) integrated into the aircraft itself, as well as enhanced radar, electronic warfare, and other capabilities that you can read more about here.
Here’s the image of an F-22 with what appears to be the new fuel tanks and sensor pods:
The F-22 Raptor 2.0. pic.twitter.com/qCcrIy1rVD
— Ward Clark (@TheGreatLander) March 24, 2026
Extending the warbird’s range is a good thing; as wing tanks have been since World War 2, these can be jettisoned if one has to go into combat in a hurry. It’s the sensor pods, though, that may well represent a serious capability gain:
While they are also stealthy, adding the IRST pods will nevertheless also have radar signature implications for the F-22. However, the tradeoff is considered acceptable, further evidence of just how critical this feature has become in air combat. In particular, an IRST sensor is useful for detecting stealthy targets, something that is also becoming increasingly relevant in the Pacific region. There is also the option of IRST-equipped Raptors sharing their sensor data with ‘clean’ F-22s, enhancing their situational awareness. You can read more about what the IRST brings to the F-22’s overall capabilities here.
That’s how you stay ahead of the curve in military technology.
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There are a lot of apocryphal stories going around about the capabilities of the F-22 and its capabilities, including how one or two Raptors went up for an exercise against a superior force of F-15 Eagles – mind you, the F-15 is a magnificent air-superiority fighter still, even today – and the F-15s weren’t even able to detect the F-22s. That’s an apocryphal story, but a believable one; the F-22 is a slippery bird, with the radar signature of a small bird.
The United States has always been good at developing cutting-edge fighter aircraft. In World War 2, American aviation companies came up with great warbirds like the F6F Hellcat, designed specifically to outclass the vaunted Japanese Zero, and the P-51 Mustang, which was the first fighter able to escort Allied bombers from England to Berlin and back, while being likely the best piston-engine fighter ever. We broke new ground with birds like the F-4 Phantom and the F-15 Eagle, and now the American aerospace industry has not only made the F-22 Raptor, but they’re improving it.
Enemies of the USA, beware.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America’s military.
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