1500.

The F-22 Raptor, the world’s first fifth generation fighter.

Intelligent, stealthy, fast and brutal.

Armed to the teeth with an arsenal of some of the most advanced 21st century weapons, the F-22 has the ability to deploy scary, intimidating, city-destroying, explosive destruction against enemies of the Us, such as long time pain in America’s behind China.

But for the Us Air Force, the F-22 dominance isn’t enough.

There must be more, and so the service is now arming the fighter with the one weapon Advanced enough to be science fiction: lasers.

These F-22 weapons are the focus of this video, including the incoming laser weapon, and they already installed mind-boggling weapons.

The F-22 Raptor isn’t lacking options in lethally taking out air, sea and ground targets with bird’s Eye Precision.

Here are the most significant of the weapons that ensure this one: aim 120- Amram.

The aim 120 Advanced medium range air-to-air missile is the primary air-to-air missile used by the F-22.

It has a range of over 100 miles and is capable of engaging multiple targets simultaneously.

The missile is radar guided and has an active Seeker that allows it to home in on enemy aircraft no matter how hard they try to evade it.

2. aim 9x Sidewinder.

The Aim9x is a short-range heat-seeking missile that is used for close-in air-to-air combat.

It has a range of up to 22 miles and is highly maneuverable, making it effective against agile targets such as enemy Fighters.

3.

Gbu 32j Dam.

With Jdam standing for joint direct attack munition, the gbu-32j Dam is a Precision guided bomb that is used for ground attack missions.

The one thousand pound bomb can be guided to its Target via Gps or via its inertial guidance systems.

The F-22 can carry up to Hgbu 32s, allowing it to devastate an enemy Ground Force out of existence.

4.

Gbu 39- small diameter bomb.

The F-22 can carry up to eight Gbu 39s at a Time, Each one a highly accurate lightweight bomb designed to neutralize fortified enemy positions by penetrating hardened targets such as bunkers or buildings.

The Gpu-39 can fly over 60 miles to take out these targets under guidance by GPS or by its onboard laser systems.

5. Agm-88 harm.

The Agm-88 high-speed anti-radiation missile is used for suppressing enemy air defenses by targeting radar installations and other electronic systems.

It has a range of over 80 miles and can be guided to its Target using a variety of guidance systems, including Gps, infrared and radar homing.

6. M61 Vulcan Cannon.

When a dogfight comes knocking, the m61 Vulcan is the 20 millimeter rotary Gatling cannon that answers the door, capable of firing up to 6 000 rounds per minute.

This weapon is the ultimate go-to to make honeycomb holes out of opposition aircraft and Rain metal on opposition Ground Forces.

These weapons combined to make the F-22 Invincible in the sky and the Us Air Force unrivaled in air dominance.

Still, both the Air Force and F-22 Hunger for More.

They hunger for a weapon that shoots faster, for longer, more precisely, and so on.

Only one weapon fits this description: laser weapons, and so there could be laser weapons on the F-22.

The Air Force research lab, or Afrl for short, is the branch of the Air Force tasked with bringing the Air Force’s dream weapons to reality.

Today, one of those weapons is an Airborne laser weapon, portable enough to be installed on Fighters like the F-22.

The Afrl set to work by creating a program known as the self-protect high energy laser demonstrator, or shield for short.

Shield would see three of the world’s most prominent defense contractors- Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Lockheed Martin- all working together to develop a single laser weapon.

Northrop Grumman would deliver the weapons beam control system, Boeing would deliver the Pod subsystem that holds other components, and Lockheed Martin would deliver Lance, the actual laser.

Lockheed Martin received 26.3 million dollars in funding from the Air Force for Lance and delivered the laser in February last year, 2022, five years after the company received the shield contract by multiple accounts.

The Lance laser was worth every waiting year.

According to the acting director of Afrl’s directed energy directorate, Kent wood, Lance and its sister subsystems all represent the most compact and capable laser weapon Technologies ever delivered to the service.

According to Tyler Griffin, a Lockheed executive, Lance is the smallest, lightest high-energy laser of its power class that Lockheed Martin has built to date.

Mr Griffin added that Lance Builds on the advancements of a previous directed energy weapon that Lockheed Martin produced for the Army, developed under the robust electric laser initiative, or rely for short.

This older laser weapon wields a 60 kilowatt class electrically driven solid-state laser with a rugged, efficient, excellent beam quality.

Although the exact power specifications of Lance are yet to be officially reported, it’s expected to be in the same class as rely, yet it is 83 percent smaller.

Having that amount of power in such a portable size is perfect for fighter jets, which typically have little free real estate to take on new equipment.

In addition to its portability, Lance has reduced power requirements compared to previous similar weapons.

This means power plants on fighter jets wouldn’t be overworked to power the weapon as much as it would be to power others.

This is another crucial Plus lantaz for the about to be laser-wielding fighter jet.

The exact Fighters that would be equipped with laser weapons haven’t been officially announced yet.

However, previous Lockheed Martin concept art has shown the Pod carried by an F-16 fighter jet.

Boeing also flew a pre-prototype pod shape, without its internal subsystems, aboard an Air Force F-15 fighter in 2019.

Those are both 4th generation Fighters, though, and there have been reports that the Us Air Force is considering having laser weapons on its Fifth and 6th generation weapons, suggesting that the sixth generation fighter from the Ngad program would likely wield The Shield laser weapon, and so, too, would America’s most dominating fifth generation Fighter, the F-22 Raptor.

But why is all of this important?

Why are the Air Force and three colossal defense contractors heavily invested in this one weapon?

What advantage is exactly would this weapon bring to these Fighters?

It’s time to find out.

Laser weapons come with advantages that have, for decades, been considered too good to be true.

These advantages include one: speed and accuracy.

Lasers are some form of light energy.

In fact, the word laser is actually an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

As a result, lasers strike at the speed of light- the fastest thing in the universe- 300 million meters per second.

No target can evade such a weapon.

Lasers can also be fired with pinpoint accuracy, even over long distances, because they travel in a straight line- so accurate in fact, they’re often used by snipers to aim.

This results in minimal collateral damage and a Precision rate is close to 100 as any weapon has ever gotten.

Number two: versatility.

Laser weapons can be used for a variety of applications, including destroying or disabling enemy Vehicles, aircraft or missiles, as well as taking out ground targets such as buildings or bunkers.

They can also be used for non-lethal applications, such as aiming and blinding enemy sensors or Communications equipment.

This versatility makes laser weapons a highly adaptable weapon system that can be used in the widest range of scenarios.

Number three: unlimited magazine.

The laser weapon makes reloading an outdated concept.

Once connected to a power source, the laser weapon can, in theory, shoot forever, as it continues to constantly convert electrical energy directly into laser light beams.

This capability comes particularly handy against swarms of small, fast lethal attack drones.

Impressive as projectile-based air defense systems are, a swarm of drones is always likely to be too much to handle, with an unlimited magazine allowing it to constantly fire highly effective shots that can burn up drones and blind reconnaissance systems.

The laser weapon solves that problem.

Number four: cost effectiveness.

Laser weapons have relatively few moving Parts, work autonomously with minimal human intervention and require only a steady supply of electrical power to operate.

So, rather than accumulating Logistics and training bills like with traditional weapons, the laser weapons only consistent burden on its operators is an electricity bill which could be as low as three dollars and fifty cents per shot.

Taking out million dollar missiles for the price of a cup of coffee is a deal the Air Force would happily grab with both hands and an F-22 Raptor.

Number five: stealth capabilities.

Laser weapons can be used to operate in a stealthy manner, making them ideal for covert operations because they emit no sound or visible light.

They can be used to take out targets without alerting nearby Personnel or raising alarms.

Despite their many advantages, laser weapons do still have some challenges to overcome- a constant mobile power source, for instance.

However, the advantages are far more rewarding than the challenges are challenging.

Therefore, the F-22 Raptor will happily absorb laser weapons into the service and onto the F-22 Raptor.

The world’s most Superior air superiority fighter is well on its way to becoming more Superior, one of the most feared fighters in history is well on its way to giving China something more to fear, and China has responded.

The Air Force would only share this highly classified response, on one condition, though.

The condition is that you subscribe to this Channel and give this video a like.

So do that now, and thanks for watching.