1. COMPATIBILITY
F-35 was built to serve all the bases of the military including the air force, navy, and marines. It was built from the ground up to be a full-fledged compatible aircraft. All the versions of the F-35 have similar performance and have a similar capability with a single seat capacity.
F-35 A:- It is designed to operate from any conventional runways. This version of the aircraft is the most ordered version to date with its international partners and the cost of the F-35 A has been decreasing drastically because of the long order list. The US air force uses this version and the average cost of this segment is around $110 Million.
F-35 B:- It is the version of the F-35 that can land and take-off vertically from any airstrip. It is mostly used in short-field bases and a range of air-capable ships. The average cost of this segment is around $135.8 Million.
F-35 C:- This version is for the navy, designed exclusively for operations on the aircraft carrier. These planes are operated by the Department of Navy exclusively. The average cost of this segment is around $117.3 Million.
On the other hand, F-22 was exclusive to the American air force. It was not built to provide each branch of the army rather give superiority to one and make it the master of the skies. It was made deliberately for the US air force.
WINNER:- F-35
2. COST FACTOR
On the factor of cost, F-35 was the most expensive military program ever to have been executed anywhere in the world. The cost of the program was higher than most of the country's GDP. Some people argue this to be a worthy thing to do considering the cost of the program. At the time of the execution, it was worth $400B. The contract was given to the long-standing Lockheed Martin. Boeing was the other company that fought for the bid.
But delays after delays the actual cost of each jet have gone up significantly. This program was 27 years in the making which as you can clearly see lifted the price significantly up adjusted for inflation.
But you will be amazed to know that the price of a single F-22 is more than that of an F-35 but the overall price of the program is significantly low, you might ask how is this even a possible thing. It is because there are fewer F-22 fighter planes in existence. There are about 195 units as compared to 550 units of the F-35.
WINNER:- F-22
3. AVAILABILITY
The F-22 was built to be an American exclusive plane from the ground up, it was built to give the US air force superiority over the skies. On the other hand, F-35 was built on an international joint venture among the allies of America. During the course of the production run, it is estimated that Lockheed Martin will build more than 6,500 aircraft.
Anyone with a need for an advanced plane can buy the F-35. Currently, 8 international program partners can buy the plane. They are the UK, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Canada, and the USA itself. Six foreign military sales customers are also producing and operation the F-35, these countries are Israel, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Belgium, and Singapore.
This joint venture is primarily done from the economic point of view, as these aircraft cost a huge sum of money and can easily help the USA combat its massive debt.
Secondly, it is being done to maintain relations with its allies for longevity. Allowing someone to purchase your aircraft builds trust that becomes helpful in the war zone.
WINNER:- F-35
Why F-22 isn't available for buying?
It is simply because the F-22 is still an advanced plane and more capable than the F-35 in many aspects. The technology used in the F-22 is otherworldly advanced, the helmet of the pilot alone costs $400,000, so you can imagine what the plane must be capable of.
4. HISTORY
There is not much history of the F-35 in real combat situations but we can see the F-22’s record of dominating the skies. It has won and many a time dominated several “dog fight” (a situation that is to kill or get killed). History has shown us F-35 needs to do more than ever to be able to make a name for itself, to prove itself.
There is more history to be created with these planes in the coming future. There will be more dog fights to be seen and more battles to be won.
During one of the no mercy training dog fight, once the F-22 was up against 5 F-16s. The F-22 came out on top killing each of the F-16 one by one without even getting seen once. The F-16s were flown by experienced F-22 pilots but they could do anything in front of the capability of F-22.
5. LONGEVITY
America has been at the forefront of military power for decades, and adding aircraft like the F-22 and F-35 have made it even stronger than ever before. It has made it an even stronger economic superpower than before. Having these aircraft in your fleet entitles for a new kind of confidence that cannot be explained but can only be felt.
The joint capability of both aircraft has surely secured the future of the USA for another 50 years until the next 6th generation planes arrive. Until then it is sure they will protect the people of the country they are servicing. There are numerous rumors that arise now and then about the 6th generation of fighters but we all know America is working very hard secretly on this undertaking.
Arguably, some people including the industry experts believe F-22 is still better than the F-35 in many aspects and they pronounce the F-35 program as a failure for the US taxpayers. But as a millennial myself I think F-22 is still the king of the skies.
