December 15 marks the Initial Operation Capability (IOC) of the F-22 Raptor, introducing it into the United States Air Force and the first flight of the F-35 Lightning II in 2005 and 2006 respectively. These two jet fighters are the only known fifth-generation fighter planes in development and production and looks set to replace current generation fighters with their advanced stealth and performance and their highly integrated and advanced avionics system. While the F-35 Lightning II is known as the Joint Strike Fighter due to it being funded by various countries waiting to acquire the fighter to replace its current generation fighters, the F-22 Raptor is exclusive to the United States Air Force since export sale is barred by American federal law. We take an in-depth look at the two fighters that have made their mark on December 15.

The F-22 Raptor is a stealth superiority fighter aircraft that had its maiden flight on 29 September 1990 for its YF model and after a cockpit relocation and various other changes, the restructured F-22 model had its maiden flight on 7 September 1997. Being designed, developed and manufactured by two of the biggest aeronautical firms in the world, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, the F-22 is said to be the best overall fighter in the world and has unmatched speed, agility and precision against any known fighter jet in production or scheduled for production.

The whole F-22 program has cost the US government 65 billion US dollars with each F-22 costing a pricey 140 million US dollars. The first fully operational Raptor was delivered on 14 January 2003 and the USAF has placed an order for 183 aircrafts. Despite its export ban, several countries have announced interest in procuring the F-22 Raptor. Japan, Israel and Australia have all released statements regarding their interest in purchasing the F-22 to replace their current generation fighters but the US Department of Defense have insisted the fighter would not be available to other countries.

The F-35 Lightning II had its first flight on December 15 2006, with first orders being delivered targeted in 2012. Even though the F-35 will not be as maneuverable, as fast or able to fly as high as the F-22, the F-35 has a far superior avionics system and unit cost of the F-35 will be as much as 50-60 million US dollars cheaper than the F-22. Although not as maneuverable as the F-22, the F-35 uses a completely unique head-up display that no other fighter has. Instead of using speed and maneuverability to chase and track down targets, the F-35 uses situational awareness of the pilot to track nearby planes and uses a helmet-mounted display system to pick out weapons, select and eliminate targets.

The F-35 Lighting II also promises to be four times more effective than current generation fighters, three times more effective in reconnaissance, eight times more effective in air-to-ground combat and air superiority that is only second to F-22. With participation from United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway, Denmark and security participation from Israel and Singapore, the F-35 looks set to be the most used fifth-generation aircraft with over 3000 F-35s already planned for all funding partners of the F-35. The F-35 also has a Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant planned in production which makes the fighter suitable for aircraft carriers.

With the advanced features of the F-22 and the F-35, these two fifth-generation fighters look set to be two of the main fighter planes used by countries worldwide as they replace the more conventional F-16s and F-15s.