American fifth-generation F-22 Raptor fighters want to be equipped with infrared search and tracking sensors. This will give the aircraft fundamentally new capabilities in the fight against other fifth-generation fighters.
The F-22 Raptor is the most powerful American aircraft to gain dominance in the sky. In the future, it should become even more dangerous: as it became known, the fighters want to equip with infrared search and tracking sensors (Infrared search and track, IRST).
As part of the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, it was initially planned that the F-22 would have an IRST sensor, which would allow more efficient detection and tracking of other aircraft. As a result, it was abandoned for reasons of economy.
Here's what the original Advanced Infrared Search & Track #AIRST would have looked like on the F-22 (ATF). https://t.co/hhECUGmniu pic.twitter.com/3vzW90YM7l- Air Power (@MIL_STD) January 13, 2022
Now the military is looking for ways to implement this option. One of the points of the document, recently released as part of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, calls for the provision of materials related to the installation of the IRST sensor on the F-22. If the contractor can offer a product that meets the requirements, the US Air Force will evaluate it and integrate it into the aviation complex.
The question is exactly how IRST is integrated into the F-22. Adding an external container would violate the fighter's carefully crafted unobtrusive qualities. The placement of the infrared sensor inside will lead to a significant alteration of the aircraft.
Moreover, there are no guarantees that such an opportunity is now available in practice. And although the system, as already mentioned, was allowed to be installed initially, it did not find its application even on the prototype F-22 - Lockheed YF-22.
YF-22
Image source: The Drive
The very idea of installing an infrared sensor on an airplane is due to new external challenges. The US Air Force is paying more and more attention to the threats coming from Russia and China. This also applies to fifth-generation fighters.
Now both Moscow and Beijing have such planes. Last year, China's first fifth-generation carrier-based fighter took to the skies for the first time. The aircraft was created on the basis of the Shenyang FC-31.
In addition, in 2021, the Celestial Empire began flight tests of the first ever two-seat fighter of a new generation. According to some experts, the aircraft can be used, including for UAV control.
