{"id":25635834,"date":"2026-09-30T06:47:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T04:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/?p=25635834"},"modified":"2026-09-30T06:47:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T04:47:21","slug":"f-22-raptor-production-restart-2026-fact-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fr\/f-22-raptor-production-restart-2026-fact-check\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the F-22 Coming Back? What&#8217;s Real Behind the Raptor Restart Headlines"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>&ldquo;The F-22 could return&rdquo; is back in the headlines. Reports this week claim the United States is examining new production of the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-22-raptor\/\">F-22 Raptor<\/a>, the stealth fighter whose line closed in 2011. It is an irresistible story. It is also, on the evidence available, not what is happening.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>There is no bill to restart production, no funded programme, no formal study request and no Air Force plan. What does exist is a real vote in Congress to keep every existing Raptor flying until at least 2032, and a long-running debate about whether America made a mistake stopping at 187. Here is what is real, and what is not.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #1a1a1a;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px\"><li><strong>Built:<\/strong> 195 total, incl. 8 test aircraft; 187 production jets<\/li><li><strong>Original requirement:<\/strong> 750<\/li><li><strong>Production ended:<\/strong> December 2011; last delivery May 2012<\/li><li><strong>In service:<\/strong> About 184<\/li><li><strong>2017 restart estimate:<\/strong> ~$50 billion for 194 jets ($206&ndash;216M each)<\/li><li><strong>2026 decision:<\/strong> House committee bans F-22 retirements until 30 Sept 2032<\/li><li><strong>Restart status:<\/strong> No bill, study request or funding<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:28px 0\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/f-22-raptor-in-flight-usaf.jpg\" alt=\"F-22 Raptor in flight\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;display:block\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:8px\">A US Air Force F-22 Raptor on a demonstration flight. The type has not been built since 2011. Photo: US Air Force, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Where the story comes from<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The latest wave of &ldquo;restart&rdquo; coverage traces back to a paywalled commentary from the French defence site Meta-Defense on 21 September, which said restart hypotheses were circulating at the Pentagon and in Congress. It named no lawmaker, bill, hearing or study. Other outlets then repeated the idea with firmer headlines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The concrete development is older and more modest. On 4 June 2026 the House Armed Services Committee adopted an amendment from Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, home state of the Marietta plant where the Raptor was built, extending the ban on F-22 retirements from September 2027 to 30 September 2032. It covers all 184 jets, including the 32 older Block 20 aircraft the Air Force had tried to retire as training-only. The Air Force has stopped asking to retire them and no longer opposes the extension. Scott&rsquo;s amendment did ask for a restart feasibility briefing, but for the C-17 transport, not the F-22.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:28px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/If7E1ZCyaIw\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">How America ended up with 187<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The Air Force once planned to buy 750 Advanced Tactical Fighters. That number shrank through the 1990s, and in 2009 Defense Secretary Robert Gates capped production at 187 operational jets. His argument was that the Raptor was superb but specialised, and that the money was better spent elsewhere, above all on the F-35.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1a1a1a;padding:22px 26px;margin:30px 0\"><p style=\"font-size:19px;line-height:1.6;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 12px\">&ldquo;The F-22 is clearly a capability we do need, a niche, silver-bullet solution for one or two potential scenarios.&rdquo;<\/p><p style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Robert Gates<\/strong>, US Secretary of Defense, speech to the Economic Club of Chicago, July 2009<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The Senate backed him that July, voting 58 to 40 to strip funding for more Raptors. The final Raptor rolled out in Marietta in December 2011 and was delivered in May 2012. Because a 1998 law bars foreign sales, there was never an export order to keep the line warm, as happened with the F-15 and F-16. The full story is in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/f-22-raptor-winner-america-stopped-building\/\">F-22 Raptor: The Winner America Stopped Building<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What a restart would actually cost<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Congress has asked this question before. In 2016 it ordered the Air Force to study restarting the line, and the answer arrived in 2017: about $50 billion to build 194 more F-22s. That included $7 billion to $10 billion just to restart production, and it put each new jet at roughly $206 million to $216 million, against about $137 million for the last ones built.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:22px 26px;margin:30px 0\"><p style=\"font-size:19px;line-height:1.6;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 12px\">&ldquo;The startup costs are significant and very expensive. Our plan is to put any resources we have into that roadmap and not into restarting a line from an older aircraft.&rdquo;<\/p><p style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Heather Wilson<\/strong>, then Secretary of the Air Force, 2017<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Those were 2017 dollars, and the problem has grown since. Lockheed Martin stored tooling and recorded how the jet was built, but the workforce has moved on, Marietta now builds C-130Js, and many of the Raptor&rsquo;s 1990s-era electronics and suppliers no longer exist. A &ldquo;new&rdquo; F-22 would need new avionics and a new production system. In practice it would be a new programme, competing for the same money as its intended successor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:28px 0\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/f-47-sixth-generation-fighter-rendering.jpg\" alt=\"Boeing F-47 artist rendering\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;display:block\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:8px\">An Air Force rendering of the Boeing F-47, chosen in March 2025 to take over the F-22&rsquo;s air-dominance role. First flight is planned for 2028. Image: US Air Force, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:28px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/alau-d0LUGM\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why the idea will not go away<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If a restart is so impractical, why does it keep coming back? Because the arguments for more Raptors are real. China keeps adding <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/j-20-mighty-dragon\/\">J-20<\/a> stealth fighters, and its fleet is now counted in the hundreds. The US Air Force fighter fleet is already below the minimum set by Congress, as we reported in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/usaf-fighter-fleet-below-congressional-minimum-crs-2026\/\">USAF Fighter Fleet: 47 Jets Below the Legal Minimum<\/a>. And the F-47 will not fly until 2028 or enter service until the 2030s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:28px 0\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/chengdu-j-20-airshow-china-2016.jpg\" alt=\"Chengdu J-20 at Airshow China 2016\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;display:block\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:8px\">A Chengdu J-20 at Airshow China in Zhuhai, 2016. China&rsquo;s growing stealth fleet is the core argument of every F-22 restart debate. Photo: Alert5, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>What Washington has actually chosen is the cheaper route: keep every Raptor it has, keep upgrading them, and put new money into the F-47 and the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/ge-xa102-adaptive-cycle-engine-assembly-ngap-f-47-2026\/\">engines it needs<\/a>. The 2032 retirement ban fits that plan exactly. A production restart does not, and until a bill, a budget line or a Pentagon request appears, &ldquo;the F-22 is coming back&rdquo; remains a headline rather than a decision.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:28px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/whYqmkgMqgA\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Is the US restarting F-22 production?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">No. As of 30 September 2026 there is no bill, funded programme, formal study request or Air Force plan to restart F-22 production. Recent headlines trace back to commentary saying restart options are being discussed. The concrete step Congress has taken is different: in June 2026 the House Armed Services Committee voted to ban F-22 retirements until September 2032.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many F-22 Raptors were built?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">195 F-22s were built, including eight test aircraft, of which 187 were production jets for the US Air Force. The Air Force had originally wanted 750. Production ended in December 2011 and the last Raptor was delivered in May 2012. About 184 remain in service.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How much would it cost to restart F-22 production?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A 2017 US Air Force study ordered by Congress estimated that building 194 more F-22s would cost about $50 billion, including $7 billion to $10 billion in start-up costs, or roughly $206 million to $216 million per aircraft. The last production F-22s cost about $137 million each. Any new estimate today would almost certainly be higher.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did the US stop building the F-22?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Defense Secretary Robert Gates capped production at 187 in 2009, arguing that the F-22 was a niche capability against threats that did not yet exist and that the money was better spent on the F-35 and other priorities. The Senate agreed in a 58 to 40 vote in July 2009. The F-22 was also never exported, because US law has barred foreign sales since 1998.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is the F-22 retirement ban until 2032?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">In June 2026 the House Armed Services Committee adopted an amendment from Rep. Austin Scott extending the ban on retiring any F-22 from September 2027 to 30 September 2032. It protects all 184 Raptors, including 32 older Block 20 jets the Air Force had previously wanted to retire. The Air Force no longer opposes keeping them.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What will replace the F-22?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The F-22&rsquo;s air-dominance role is meant to pass to the Boeing F-47, a sixth-generation fighter the Air Force selected in March 2025. The Air Force says the F-47 is on track for a first flight in 2028, with service entry expected in the 2030s. The F-22 is being upgraded to keep flying until then.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is the US restarting F-22 production?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. As of 30 September 2026 there is no bill, funded programme, formal study request or Air Force plan to restart F-22 production. Recent headlines trace back to commentary saying restart options are being discussed. The concrete step Congress has taken is different: in June 2026 the House Armed Services Committee voted to ban F-22 retirements until September 2032.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many F-22 Raptors were built?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"195 F-22s were built, including eight test aircraft, of which 187 were production jets for the US Air Force. The Air Force had originally wanted 750. Production ended in December 2011 and the last Raptor was delivered in May 2012. About 184 remain in service.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How much would it cost to restart F-22 production?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A 2017 US Air Force study ordered by Congress estimated that building 194 more F-22s would cost about $50 billion, including $7 billion to $10 billion in start-up costs, or roughly $206 million to $216 million per aircraft. The last production F-22s cost about $137 million each. Any new estimate today would almost certainly be higher.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why did the US stop building the F-22?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Defense Secretary Robert Gates capped production at 187 in 2009, arguing that the F-22 was a niche capability against threats that did not yet exist and that the money was better spent on the F-35 and other priorities. The Senate agreed in a 58 to 40 vote in July 2009. The F-22 was also never exported, because US law has barred foreign sales since 1998.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the F-22 retirement ban until 2032?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"In June 2026 the House Armed Services Committee adopted an amendment from Rep. Austin Scott extending the ban on retiring any F-22 from September 2027 to 30 September 2032. It protects all 184 Raptors, including 32 older Block 20 jets the Air Force had previously wanted to retire. The Air Force no longer opposes keeping them.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What will replace the F-22?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The F-22\u2019s air-dominance role is meant to pass to the Boeing F-47, a sixth-generation fighter the Air Force selected in March 2025. The Air Force says the F-47 is on track for a first flight in 2028, with service entry expected in the 2030s. The F-22 is being upgraded to keep flying until then.\"}}]}<\/script><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:28px\">Sources: Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine, &ldquo;House Panel Votes to Prohibit F-22 Retirements Through 2032&rdquo; (June 2026); The War Zone, 2017 F-22 restart study; US Department of Defense, Gates speech to the Economic Club of Chicago (July 2009); Meta-Defense (21 September 2026); Defense One and Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine on the F-47 schedule.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/f-22-raptor-winner-america-stopped-building\/\">F-22 Raptor: The Winner America Stopped Building<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/why-f-15-outlived-f-22-replacement\/\">The Eagle That Outlived Its Own Replacement<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/usaf-fighter-fleet-below-congressional-minimum-crs-2026\/\">USAF Fighter Fleet: 47 Jets Below the Legal Minimum<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/boeing-eyes-c-17-globemaster-production-restart\/\">Boeing Eyes C-17 Globemaster Production Restart<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Headlines say the US is examining new F-22 production. There is no bill, study or funding. What Congress has done is ban F-22 retirements until 2032.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":25635432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25635834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>F-22 Production Restart: What\u2019s Real in 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is the F-22 production restart real? No bill, study or funding exists. 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