Increment 3.2 funding discontinued in FY22?

[block4]

Just wondering if increment 3.2 is the final major increment upgrade, as it appears in the FY22 budget estimate that increment 3.2 funding has been completed as of FY21 ?

[Lieven]

Anyone who can clarify? Just bumping this topic as it had close to half a million views.

[disconnectedradical]

According to Lockheed Martin, all Increment 3.2 upgrades were completed by June 2022.

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/ ... s62022.pdf

Also future F-22 upgrades aren’t called Increments anymore, they are releasing software upgrades more rapidly and also open mission systems can more easily allow upgrades to be added.

[charlielima223]

Piggy backing off of disconnectedradical...

https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/ ... ghter-tech

After Lockheed Martin completed the major Increment 3.2B upgrade on the F-22 fleet in 2020-2021, the company and the Air Force shifted the focus into a new approach of iterative updates called the Raptor Agile Capability Release (RACR) program. The first phase was completed in 2022 and focused on an Open Systems Architecture update that added hardware for the Raptor to be able to transmit Link 16.

RACR’s second phase, Release 2, is a software modification program that recently received approval, and initial fielding has begun. The next phase, Release 3, is expected to follow about 12-18 months later after the second release, says O.J. Sanchez, Lockheed’s vice president for its Integrated Fighter Group. 

The Air Force and Lockheed are testing low-drag tanks and pylons as part of a push to improve the Raptor’s range, though fielding of that is expected to be after the installation of the RACR Release 2, Sanchez says. 

Lockheed is installing the RACR upgrades under the Advanced Raptor Enhancement and Sustainment Contract, a maximum $10.9 billion contract awarded in 2021.

[Lieven]

Thank you both!