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The Air Force has renamed the F-22 Raptor the F/A-22 to more accurately reflect the aircraft’s multimission roles and capabilities in contemporary combat environments. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper announced the designation change during a 17 September keynote address at the Air Force Association’s 2002 National Convention in Washington, DC. “[Air Force] Secretary [James] Roche and I have decided to adopt the name F/A-22, using the A, or attack, prefix to emphasize the multiple roles and many dimensions of the Raptor,” Jumper explained. “One of the Raptor’s most significant contributions over the next thirty years will be its ground attack role against targets protected by the next two generations of surface-to-air missiles.”
Advances in fire control radar and integrated avionics, combined with new precision weapons, such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition and the Small Diameter Bomb now in development, will allow the F/A-22 to effectively attack ground targets, according to the Air Force. Roche said the emerging missions being envisioned for the F/A-22 are principally involved with targets that are very deep, highly protected, and more mobile.
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