The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor remains the most powerful fighter jet in the world. Yet with the widespread introduction of its younger, more numerous cousin—the F-35 Lightning II—a persistent question continues to surface in defense circles: is the F-22 still the stealthiest combat aircraft ever built?
Perhaps surprisingly to some, the answer is still yes.
The reasons are obvious on the surface but far more nuanced when examined in depth. Simply put, the F-22 does not compromise in the way the F-35 was designed to. Despite being more than two decades old, the Raptor’s stealth characteristics remain unmatched, a testament to the extraordinary circumstances under which it was conceived and the uncompromising philosophy that shaped its design.
The F-22 Raptor was conceived at the very end of the most intense arms race in recorded history. Its mission profile reflected a moment when failure was not an option and the stakes could not have been higher. Facing what was perceived as an existential Soviet nuclear threat, the U.S. Air Force partnered with America’s most advanced defense contractors to build the ultimate air dominance fighter.
Cost was effectively no object. Performance, survivability, and lethality were the overriding priorities. The result was not merely an air superiority aircraft, but the world’s first true stealth fighter designed to dominate hostile airspace rather than sneak around its edges.
Unlike earlier low-observable platforms such as the F-117 Nighthawk, which relied heavily on faceted surfaces and limited mission profiles, the F-22 was designed to fight—and win—against the most capable enemy aircraft while remaining largely invisible across multiple detection spectrums. The outcome was arguably the deadliest air combat platform ever to take flight.
This is not meant to be a love letter to the Raptor. The F-35 Lightning II is an extraordinary aircraft in its own right and has revolutionized coalition air power across NATO and allied air forces. But the differences between the F-22 and F-35 are clear, intentional, and well documented.
The F-35 was designed to be more cost-effective, more flexible, and far easier to operate at scale. It was built to perform a wide range of missions—air-to-air combat, ground attack, intelligence gathering, electronic warfare, and close air support—while remaining affordable enough for large production runs and foreign military sales.
That versatility, however, came at a cost.
Where the F-22 was optimized around a single overriding mission—absolute air dominance—the F-35 represents a carefully balanced compromise between stealth, capability, and operational simplicity. It is stealthy enough to penetrate contested airspace, but not stealthy in every direction or under every condition.
A defining feature of the F-35 program is its three-variant design, an unprecedented attempt to field a common stealth fighter across radically different operational environments.
The F-35A is a conventional land-based fighter with the best overall performance. The F-35B is a short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft designed for Marine Corps operations from austere bases and amphibious assault ships. The F-35C features enlarged wings, reinforced landing gear, and folding mechanisms to operate from aircraft carriers.
Despite these major differences, the three variants share over 75 percent parts commonality. That requirement alone imposed strict limits on how stealthy the airframe could be made.
The F-22, by contrast, had no such constraints. It did not need to land vertically, operate from carriers, or satisfy allied procurement requirements. Every aspect of its design could be optimized purely for stealth, speed, and dominance in air-to-air combat.
At the most fundamental level, stealth begins with shape. The way an aircraft’s exterior surfaces reflect, scatter, or absorb radar energy determines how visible it is to enemy sensors.
The F-22 was designed with true all-aspect stealth. From virtually any angle—front, side, rear, above, or below—it deflects the majority of incoming radar energy away from the emitter. This required extreme precision in surface alignment, edge treatment, and structural integration.
The F-35, while still very stealthy, is optimized primarily for frontal and side aspects. Its rear and lower profiles are less refined from a radar cross-section (RCS) standpoint, a tradeoff driven by the need to accommodate different variants, weapons bays, and maintenance access points.
A common visualization used by engineers compares the F-22’s radar signature to a smooth marble, while the F-35 resembles a golf ball. Both are extremely small targets, but the marble remains exponentially harder to detect and track.
Radar is only one part of the stealth equation. Infrared detection has become increasingly important as adversaries field advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST) systems capable of detecting aircraft by their heat signatures rather than radar reflections.
Here again, the F-22 holds a clear advantage.
The Raptor’s twin-engine exhaust nozzles were specifically designed with infrared suppression in mind. They are flattened, shielded, and edged with stealth-optimized chevrons that reduce both radar and thermal signatures. Heat is spread across a wider surface area and partially masked from ground-based sensors.
The F-35, by contrast, features a single, large, round exhaust nozzle with comparatively limited shaping for stealth. While its engine benefits from a higher bypass ratio—which can produce cooler exhaust under certain flight conditions—the overall thermal signature remains more pronounced, especially during high-power or afterburner use.
The F-22’s engines were the first in the world designed from the outset with radar cross-section reduction as a core requirement. Their horizontal thrust-vectoring nozzles not only enhance maneuverability but also contribute to reduced infrared visibility.
Stealth is not just about what an aircraft reflects—it is also about what it emits.
A critical but often overlooked component of low observability is electronic discipline, commonly referred to as emissions control, or EMCON. Remaining electronically silent can be just as important as minimizing radar cross-section.
The F-22 excels in this domain. Its mission profile emphasizes strict EMCON protocols, frequency-agile radar operation, and limited data transmission. Designed as a “hunter-killer,” the Raptor can operate largely alone, detect threats passively, and strike without announcing its presence.
The F-35, by design, is a networked fighter. It relies heavily on continuous data sharing through systems such as the Multifunction Advanced Datalink (MADL). This allows it to act as a sensor node within a broader battlespace, feeding information to other aircraft, ships, and ground units.
While the F-35 incorporates measures to reduce the detectability of these emissions, the simple reality is that an aircraft that is almost always transmitting is inherently more vulnerable from an electronic warfare perspective.
One area where the Lightning II unquestionably surpasses the Raptor is in maintainability.
The F-22’s radar-absorbent material (RAM) coating is notoriously fragile and difficult to maintain. Environmental exposure, routine flight operations, and even minor surface damage can degrade its stealth properties. This has contributed significantly to the aircraft’s high maintenance costs and lower readiness rates.
The F-35 program benefited directly from these hard lessons. Its stealth coatings are far more durable, easier to repair, and better suited for high-tempo operations across multiple climates. In fact, there has been discussion within the U.S. Air Force about potentially applying aspects of the F-35’s stealth treatment to the legacy F-22 fleet.
True stealth is multi-spectral, encompassing radar, infrared, electronic emissions, and even visual detection.
Recent images of F-22s operating out of Nellis Air Force Base with a distinctive mirror-like, patchwork coating have sparked widespread speculation. These “chrome” skins are not a fleet-wide upgrade but rather experimental test materials.
Unlike traditional matte gray RAM coatings, these reflective surfaces appear as mosaics of highly polished tiles. Similar experiments were conducted decades ago on the F-117 Nighthawk, and more recently on an F-35C operated by the Navy’s VX-9 squadron.
The goal may be to reflect the cold sky or surrounding environment, reducing thermal contrast against IR sensors. Such coatings could also disperse low-power laser energy, offering passive protection against emerging directed-energy threats.
These trials likely support the development of Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) technologies, particularly more durable and maintainable stealth skins.
The renewed focus on stealth superiority is not happening in a vacuum.
China continues to expand production of the J-20 Mighty Dragon, a fifth-generation fighter widely believed to incorporate design elements derived from stolen F-22 data. Beijing is also developing the J-35, a potential carrier-based stealth fighter, as well as stealth drones and the rumored H-20 flying-wing bomber.
Russia, despite industrial challenges exacerbated by sanctions and the war in Ukraine, continues to upgrade its Su-57 Felon and promote the Su-75 Checkmate as a lower-cost stealth alternative.
These developments have reinforced the need for the U.S. to maintain an unquestioned edge in air dominance—an edge the F-22 still provides.
Built between 2002 and 2012, the F-22 fleet of 187 aircraft now ranges from 13 to 20 years old. With no immediate successor ready to replace it, the U.S. Air Force has committed to a major modernization effort known informally as the “Super Raptor.”
Under the Advanced Raptor Enhancement & Sustainment (ARES) program, Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract worth nearly $11 billion to upgrade the fleet through 2031. These enhancements will extend the Raptor’s service life and ensure it remains the tip of the spear until the sixth-generation Boeing F-47 NGAD enters service in sufficient numbers.
Given the immense cost and complexity of NGAD development, there is growing concern that the F-22 may need to remain operational well into the 2040s.
Two decades after it first entered service, the F-22 Raptor remains the benchmark against which all other stealth fighters are measured. The F-35 may be more versatile, more affordable, and more globally deployed, but when it comes to pure stealth—across radar, infrared, and electronic domains—the Raptor still stands alone.
It is a relic of a time when compromise was not an option, and that uncompromising design philosophy continues to pay dividends in an increasingly contested world.
