Stealth fighter F-22 Raptor sustainment (FASTER): ~$8.82B — a long-term sustainment contract with Lockheed Martin (USAspending)

1The cost of keeping equipment flying

Equipment procurement draws attention to buying new, but in reality the "cost of continuing to use it after purchase (sustainment)" piles up to vast sums across an aircraft's whole life. Parts supply, inspection and repair, upgrades, technical support — without this steady underpinning, even an expensive fighter cannot keep flying.

This contract, "FASTER (Follow-on Agile Sustainment To the Raptor)," is precisely the program to keep the F-22 Raptor flying.

2The F-22 air superiority fighter

The F-22 is a fifth-generation stealth fighter that handles U.S. Air Force air superiority. Its production numbers were limited and new production has already ended, so keeping existing aircraft flying long and at high readiness matters greatly.

If the F-35 covered separately on this site is at the "continuing production" stage, the F-22 is at the "keep maintaining what you have" stage; placing them side by side reveals how a fighter shifts its center of gravity from acquisition to sustainment over its life.

3A sustainment contract spanning 16 years

A cumulative ~$8.82B, running from 2008 to 2024, shows that a sustainment contract — unlike a one-off purchase — requires continuous cost over the long term. The description (USAspending) goes as far as the sustainment program name and does not detail individual work (this site does not fill in what the description omits).

4The stage of buying, and the stage of keeping

Procurement draws attention to the purchase of something new, while what accumulates across an airframe's life is the cost of keeping it in use afterwards. For the same fighter, which stage it is in changes the character of the contract.

The F-22 is the fifth-generation stealth fighter carrying the Air Force's air superiority mission; numbers built were limited and new production has ended. Keeping the existing fleet flying at high availability for as long as possible is therefore what matters. Roughly $8.82 billion cumulative from 2008 to 2024 shows sustainment demanding cost continuously over a long span, unlike a single purchase.