The US Air Force F-22 Raptor fleet will undergo a series of new "survivability" upgrades in an attempt to address new threats in recent years and "ensure sustained effectiveness in future conflicts". Previously, the F-22 fleet was still undergoing the installation of pod type IRST and stealth secondary fuel tanks, while this report mentions a series of upgrades including the replacement of the new "infrared defense system" (IRDS) and the improvement of the aircraft's stealth, radar, and electronic warfare system performance. The detailed information of this series of upgrades is disclosed in the budget application document of the US Air Force for fiscal year 2026. As a newly launched project, the US Air Force plans to allocate $90.34 million (approximately 647 million yuan) in funding for this project in the next fiscal cycle. According to this budget document, "survivability upgrades" include but are not limited to low detectable signal management, pilot human-machine interface, adversarial system, helmet system, future encryption upgrades, dynamic synthetic aperture radar, network security, infrared defense system (IRDS) including improved missile monitoring capabilities, and electronic warfare system related software and hardware upgrades, combined with more situational awareness and mission effectiveness technologies, to enhance the fleet's ability to participate in joint combat operations. According to Lockheed Martin, the F-22 will receive a new IRDS system in January 2026, which will focus on countering threats from long-range air-to-air and surface to air missiles, replacing the existing AN/AAR-56 MLD missile launch monitoring system of the F-22. As for whether IRDS is improving its capabilities in this area and providing other capabilities such as a "transparent cockpit" similar to the F-35 Distributed Aperture System (EODAS), it is still unclear. The US Air Force stated in January this year that by the 2050s, it will face advanced anti missile systems with a range of up to 1000 miles (approximately 1610 kilometers), such as China and Russia developing various upgraded air-to-air and ground to air missiles. The report also cited the PL-15E used by Pakistan in the recent Indo Pakistani air war as an example, stating that this missile is one of the important motivations for the US military to develop the next generation of "Joint Advanced Tactical Missile" AIM-260. In addition, the F-22 fleet will also be equipped with the Thales Scorpio helmet display system to restore similar capabilities that were cancelled during the development process. Reports also speculate that the "mirror" body coating achievements on the F-22, F-35, and F-117 in recent years may be used to enhance the stealth performance of the F-22 fleet. To further reduce the detectability of the aircraft, the F-22 will obtain the IRST system in the form of a pod in a separate upgrade project, increasing passive infrared target detection and tracking capabilities. In recent years, F-22 with sensor pods attached to the wings have been repeatedly discovered for test flights. The US Air Force has also issued an initial production order for 15 pairs of pods, with the goal of delivering them starting in the second quarter of fiscal year 2028. It is said that compared to traditional single aperture IRST, which can only determine angular orientation, paired IRST sensors attached to the wings can be used in conjunction with the IRDS system to achieve "combat grade target trajectory" acquisition and tracking through triangulation. According to reports, the budget application document of the US Air Force also disclosed that the F-22 will serve as the first air control platform for the future unmanned "collaborative combat aircraft" (CCA) of the US Air Force. Starting from fiscal year 2026, the US Air Force will install a tablet based control system for it and make other related modifications to the aircraft. The budget requests over $15 million in funding for a program called 'Manned Platform Integration'. At present, the US Air Force has a total of 185 F-22s in its establishment, of which 143 have combat capabilities and the rest are used for training and testing and evaluation missions. According to the budget, the plan will purchase and integrate F-22 fighter modification kits for operating CCA drones. The procurement includes but is not limited to tablet equipment, cables, and other necessary materials, as well as system integration, assembly, testing, and inspection work, in addition to software updates, system engineering, personnel training, logistics support equipment, and project support costs. Of this $15 million, over $12.2 million will be used to purchase 142 tablet devices and related cable kits (which are basically in line with the F-22 combat fleet), with an average of approximately $86200 per set. It is currently unclear how the F-22 will communicate with the drones it controls. Reports speculate that a dedicated inter flight data link (IFDL) between F-22 and F-35 is one possible solution. In addition, some systems used for relay communication between F-22 and F-35 have also been tested on CCA's verification platform XQ-58 "Valkyrie" drone, which may have relevant application value in future combat models of CCA drone systems. Regarding the CCA drone program itself, the US Air Force has also proposed a requirement of $870 million in the 2026 fiscal year budget. Currently, in the first phase of the project, two prototypes, General Atomic Energy's YFQ-15A and Andulier's YFQ-44A, are under development, and the bidding requirements for the second phase of the prototype are being finalized. US Air Force officials have stated that the first phase plans to purchase 100 to 150 drones, and the future long-term plan is to purchase and deploy at least 1000 drones in each phase. Currently, the first batch of aircraft is being sought to be put into use before the end of 2020. At the same time, the US Air Force is actively cooperating with the Navy and Marine Corps on the development of collaborative combat aircraft, such as a common command and control architecture. In addition to the F-22, the F-35 and F-47 have also been included in future CCA control platforms, and the US Air Force has stated that they will be matched with CCA on a "wider range of aircraft platforms" beyond fighter jets, including the B-21 "Raider" stealth bomber and aerial refueling aircraft that are currently in flight. In January of this year, Lockheed Martin announced in a press release that it had showcased the drone teaming interface to users, stating that it is a technology that allows pilots to "command multiple drones to engage enemies using touchscreen tablets" inside the fifth generation fighter cockpit. Although there were doubts about the effectiveness of using tablets to control drones as early as last year, due to the fact that the F-22 and F-35 are purely single seat fighter jets, it is not easy to fly the aircraft using legged tablets, making it even more difficult to operate weapons on the aircraft. Colonel Derrick Brannon, the head of the US Marine Corps' Cunningham Team (responsible for advancing the Marine Corps Air Force's 2040 "Eagle Plan"), also stated in March this year that "we need to learn a lot in order to control drones and pilot aircraft on the F-35 while (on a tablet), rather than letting planes collide. ”There are also many disagreements within the US Air Force on how to operate drones, but on the other hand, it is widely acknowledged that currently using tablets is the easiest way to begin validation testing, with minimal "invasive modifications" to the original aircraft, and may not be the final state of this system. In addition, further improving CCA's autonomous flight and combat capabilities, as well as reducing human interference operations, may also alleviate related issues to a certain extent. The US Air Force has previously used various drones, as well as X-62 "Variable Stability" aircraft modified on F-16D, to study solutions, and modified multiple F-16s as validation platforms for the "Experimental Next Generation Operational Mode" (VENOM) project. However, there are still many issues to be addressed in deploying, launching, retrieving, maintaining, and actually operating CCA drones. In this situation, the US Air Force has established a dedicated CCA testing unit, known as the "Experimental Operations Unit" (EOU), and expanded it to squadron size last month, although it is unclear whether the unit is already equipped with usable flight equipment. The US Air Force announced last year that it had approved the purchase of additional CCA and equipped them for experimental combat units, but it is currently unknown how many of these drones there are, whether they are YFQ-421A, YFQ-44A, or a combination of the two. In summary, the US Air Force has applied for nearly $55.5 million and $6.6 million in funding for EOU and VENOM respectively in fiscal year 2026, up from $44.5 million and $6.1 million in fiscal year 2025. Anyway, the US Air Force will obtain relevant test results from these two projects. The plan to equip the F-22 fleet with tablet operating devices, although not ideal in terms of human-machine operation, is also another new trend in the US military's deployment of the first batch of CCA. (New Society)