How much does F 22 raptor cost?

This is considered as one of the most technologically advanced air-fighting jets in the world. But this item is not available for other countries except America. The per unit cost of an F 22 raptor is around $120 million to $150 million. Moreover, the actual cost of it is far higher than this price range.

The production of this jet had been stopped though they have planned to manufacture 700 units. However, the Pentagon has only 195 F 22 raptors, and this number will not increase due to applying strategic decisions to it. Therefore, many countries like; Japan, Israel, and Australia were trying to have this one in their stock.

But they were failed to convince the higher officials of the USA. Through reading this article, the individual will know about the cost of this under different dimensions. Additionally, we also compare the price of it with other great aircraft.

The real cost of an F 22 raptor

The total cost of this is around $350 million by adding all the major things like; research and development, engineering cost and so on. Furthermore, it is a fifth-generation air fighting jet and jointly manufactured by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. They spent around $66 billion to develop the whole program of it.

Moreover, the effectiveness of this item is quite satisfactory. Manufacturers leave no stone unuttered to make it as one of the most powerful items. The exact cost of R&D for each aircraft is about $200 million. They do a lot of hard work to produce this and make it more capable of winning in the air to air and air to ground fields.

Raptor cost per hour

There is no exact value exposed about this subject from the officials. According to the time magazine source, per cost of running F, 22 is about $68000 to $69000. Moreover, this is not an exact valuation. The total price of this will be around $330 million if people think its lifetime is about 40 years.

Moreover, there are fighting jets that have a higher value than this which is Air force One. It is considered as one of the finest and strongest items in the jet plane industry. The cost of per hour for this is around $160000 to $1610000. Therefore, the cost of this basically depends on the fuel and engine types.

F 22 raptor helmet cost

The helmets which are produced for the fighting jets are not conventional. This special type of helmet is capable of multitasking while operating the jet. The price of one super helmet is around $400000. Furthermore, the price will be increased substantially if people want to add the extra feature with this.

Therefore, there are a lot of things which need to work at a time while operating a fighting jet. One needs to set the target and focus on it within a short period. In addition to that, the pilot also gets command through the technology of the helmet. In other words, a good quality helmet is capable enough to add huge value in different dimensions.

Specifications of F 22 raptor

One can expect to have great numbers in terms of speed and other key things after knowing the price range. All the nations of this world are always looking forward to spending a lot of money to strengthen their air defense.

People can consider the specifications of this at a standard level. Therefore, this also assists in making a comparison with other similar items. In the following table, we narrate its key features of it.

Basically, this is used by the military to dominate the battle with some exciting features. A fighter can hit the target of air as well as the ground by using this. This also has great capacity in terms of carrying various types of weapons to hit the target.

In the above table, we just mention some key specifications of it. One might search by the name of this to know more detailed information about this. Hopefully, that will helps the readers to have complete knowledge about the specifications.

F 22 vs. F 35

Most nations are choosing F-35 jet aircraft due to not having the opportunity to buy F-22 Raptors. In addition to that, the price of F 35 is very lower which is about $90 million to $95 million. The manufacturer of this can decrease the overall cost due to producing a good number of units.

That is why, the per unit cost of development becomes very much lower and it also assists to set a standard price. Though F 35 is a fifth generation jet aircraft, there have some basic differences if we compare the specifications with F 22. In the next table, we illustrate the comparison table of this for two different models.

The features of the F 22 are far better than the F 35 model. For that reason, the production cost of this is higher by around $200 million. Moreover, the raptor is capable of giving 40 years of service if it is run regularly. The overall size of the F 35 is comparatively smaller.

Furthermore, individuals will find other fighting jets in the market to compare the price and overall specifications. We select this model to make the comparison due to showing it comprehensively.

Price of other fighting aircraft

In the modern world, technologies are growing rapidly in every sector. Every wealthy nation in the world is trying to make their defense as strong as possible so that they can fight with other sectors. Additionally, they don't want to depend on other country's manufacturers to collect the necessary items for air defense.

That is why we select some air fighting jets to show their price in terms of making the comparison with F 22. In the following table, we mention the price of them.

The above list is a little bit large due to cover all the price range. Moreover, there will be other inexpensive options in the market but these are not able to fulfil the minimum criteria. The most expensive item on the list is Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit which is currently used by the USA. The price of this is around $2 billion which is very much higher.

The least price item in the above table belongs to China its name is Chengdu J-20 Black Eagle. One needs to spend around $100 million to own this. There also have some common items like; the "C-17 Globemaster III” is used by many countries including; UAE, India, Australia and so on.

By and large, the nation needs to spend above $100 million to buy a great configuration and technology advanced air fighting jet. They also have the chance to make their air defense with fewer budgets. But this will not bring optimum benefits for the nations.

Why the cost raptor is so high?

There have some basic reasons behind the high cost of production. First of all, less number of units had been produced and it doesn’t touch economic of scale at all. Secondly, great quality technology and advanced materials are used as the construction materials.

Moreover, the producer uses two engines to run this. Usually, the price of a fighter jet engine is around $12 million to $35 million. In addition to that, the cost of development of this jet is pretty much higher which also increases per unit cost dramatically. By and large, the configuration and the dimension also take the price to a higher level.  

Most importantly, this is a stealth aircraft which needs a lot of work to hide from the radar signal. Therefore, some other extra features which are very unique in this industry also raise the price. Whatever the price is, F 22 raptor is not produced to sell. However, nations have other great alternative options rather than this.

Cost Analysis

F 22 is an expensive fighting jet in the world and it is only available in the USA. This item is very much famous for its overall power and stealth technology. Very few radar technology in the world is capable of detecting this. The military can use this for an attack in the air as well as on the ground. The cost of making this is around $120 million to $150 million.