The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, an air dominance fighter renowned for its stealth and agility, has been a staple of U.S. Air Force supremacy. With a formidable reputation, the tantalizing idea of a Raptor taking off from the deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier has sparked discussions and fantasies, capturing the attention of military tech aficionados.

However, despite its cutting-edge capabilities, the F-22 Raptor’s journey to the sea has faced insurmountable obstacles, leaving its carrier-compatible aspirations unfulfilled.

The F-22, a marvel of modern military aviation, entered service as the world’s first fifth-generation jet. Its stealth, supercruise, and thrust-vectoring engines, alongside a tiny radar cross-section, have made it a formidable tool in air superiority.

As “the world’s most respected air superiority platform,” the Raptor’s capacity to carry a lethal payload of precision-guided ground bombs and air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-120 AMRAMS and AIM-9 Sidewinders further cemented its dominance.

However, the Raptor’s suitability for carrier operations was an entirely different challenge. Not only are Air Force pilots untrained for the unique demands of aircraft carrier landings, but the Raptor’s hefty weight—approximately 45,000 pounds—posed significant risks to the integrity of a carrier’s deck.

Modifications required to adapt the Raptor for carrier use would have compromised its stealth capabilities and escalated maintenance costs. According to The Aviation Geek Club, “No carrier CO is going to risk massive damage to his flight deck…by letting 45,000 pounds of nasty slam into it.”

The idea of a Sea Raptor was once seriously entertained. The Navy’s version would necessitate a variable sweep-wing design, akin to the F-14 Tomcat, to enable slow landings on a carrier. However, this alteration would have reduced the stealth advantage that was the Raptor’s trademark.

With the Cold War’s conclusion and subsequent military budget cuts, the ambitious project was shelved in favor of the multirole F-35 platform, marking the end of the Sea Raptor concept.

The F-22’s cost is formidable, and so is the training required to master its complex systems.

For these reasons, and given the Navy’s adoption of the F-35C variant—a jet equipped with advanced sensors to conduct air combat and reconnaissance—the F-22’s transition to a carrier strike role remained a theoretical exercise.

Despite the challenges, the idea of using F-22 Raptors to defend carrier strike groups has been explored. The stealthy Raptor could offer increased protection against enemy radar detection, providing the carrier with more reaction time in case of an attack.

Its long-range missiles and advanced sensors would enhance the strike group’s defensive measures. However, adapting the Raptor for carrier operations remains a financial and technical challenge, and the Navy’s focus has shifted towards platforms designed explicitly for carrier use.

The NATF-22, a sister platform to the F-22, was briefly considered under the Naval Advanced Tactical Fighter program. It would have required a robust fuselage and a variable-sweep wing for carrier-based operations.

But, as history has shown, the high costs and technical complications led to the idea being scrapped. The NATF-22’s potential stealth compromise, combined with operational costs comparable to the F-14 Tomcat’s, did not justify the continuation of the project.

In a prelude to things to come, the NATF program, and its associated plans for an NATF-22, were soon seen as prohibitively expensive. By 1990, some seven years before the F-22 would first take to the sky, Admiral Richard Dunleavy, the man responsible for outlining the Navy’s requirements for a new fighter, was quoted as saying that he didn’t see any way the F-22 could be incorporated into an affordable plan for Naval aviation. As a result, the NATF-22 concept was dropped in early 1991.

Relevant articles:
– Could the F-22 Raptor Fly from U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers?, The National Interest
– F-22 Sea Raptor: Stealth Fighter ‘Beast’ Flying from U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers, The National Interest
– Could the F-22 Raptor be the Future of Carrier Strike Groups?, SchoolTube
– Could the F-22 Raptor Flown from a US Navy Aircraft Carrier?, 19FortyFive