The United States plans to develop a new F-55 fighter jet and modernize the F-22

The United States is considering the development of a new F-55 combat aircraft, as well as the modernization of the F-22 fighter jet to the Super Raptor version.

President Donald Trump stated this during an event at the Al-Udeid air base in Qatar.

“We’re going to do an F-55 and – I think, if we get the right price, we have to get the right price – that’ll be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35, and then we’re going to do the F-22,” Trump said.

It was not fully understood what exactly the President meant by calling the project a super modernization of the F-35, since the announced development of a twin-engine design can actually be considered the creation of a new aircraft.

The announced F-55 project may be related to the F/A-XX program, an initiative to replace the US Navy’s F/A-18 fighters with a new type of stealthy sixth-generation fighter. The program is expected to be implemented in the 2030s.

Due to defense budget cuts, the Navy and Congress, on the one hand, and the White House administration, on the other, have been fighting for a long time to preserve this program.

The announcement of the tender winner, which is being competed for by Boeing and Northrop Grumman, was expected back in March, but it has not happened yet. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suggested delaying the program for three years, which posed a serious risk of its cancellation.

F-22 Super Raptor

In his speech, Trump also emphasized the importance of the F-47, a promising air superiority aircraft, while noting that the United States is simultaneously considering the F-22 modernization.

“I think the most beautiful fighter jet in the world is the F-22 but we’re going to do an F-22 Super and it’ll be a very modern version of the F-22 fighter jet,” he added, adding in regards to the modernization that “we’re going to be going with it pretty quickly.”

The President was most likely referring to the traditional prefix “Super” to the name of a deeply modernized aircraft, as was the case with the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter.

After Lockheed Martin dropped out of the competition to develop the sixth-generation NGAD fighter, the company said that the technologies developed under the program would be used to modernize the F-35 and F-22 fighters. It is likely that these technologies will form the basis of the Super Raptor.

CEO Jim Tyklet stated that the F-35 Block 4 fighter jets will integrate new combat systems and sensors: more advanced radars and passive infrared detection sensors.