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    Lockheed Martin, with the support of Air Force secretary James Roche, has quietly been designing a long range strike variant of the F/A-22, known as FB-22. The wings and horizontal stablizers of the F/A-22 would yield to a delta wing, similar in appearance to the original wing on the F/A-22. The aircraft would carry 24 small diameter bombs and supercruise at altitudes approaching 60,000 feet. The F135 or F136 engines, powerplants in the 40,000 lb. thrust-class, might propel the aircraft. Assuming that the FB-22 would cruise at fuel-efficient (subsonic) speeds, its combat radius could be extended from 600 naut. miles to 1600 naut. miles.

     A similar program is the X-44 Manta, a delta-winged F-22 which uses vectored thrust as its sole means of control. The MANTA will do much to validate the planform for the FB-22, although it will also prove a number of more advanced concepts in our understanding of flight physics.

     MANTA is an acronym for Multi-Axis No Tail Aircraft. The plan is to convert an F-22 so that it uses its thrust vectoring nozzles for its flight control. It has no rudders, stabilitors, or ailerons. Needless to say, this is a revolutionary new aircraft. Some reports state that the MANTA has been cancelled, and the feasibility of the concept is in doubt.

     The MANTA and FB-22 projects are intertwined. The wing for the FB-22 can be tested on the X-44. Likewise, the vertical control surfaces could be eliminated from the FB-22 if thrust vectoring is effective on the X-44.

     The utility of an aircraft like the FB-22 became obvious on April 7, 2003, as Saddam Hussein was spotted in a restaurant compound in the Mansoor district of Baghdad. It took approximately an hour from the time that the info was received until the B-1B "Seek and Destroy" put its bombs on the target. Reports state that Saddam left the compound no more than fifteen minutes before the bombs hit--approximately the same amount of time it took for the B-1 to reach the target. The lesson from this incident is that speed kills. An aircraft like the FB-22, with a top speed exceeding Mach 2 (versus Mach 1 for the B-1B,) might have made the difference.

     The FB-22 is on hold for now. The Air Force is having a difficult time funding the baseline F/A-22 Raptor, and probably will not reach their stated goal of 381 aircraft. The name change (F-22 to F/A-22) was made in September 2002. It reflects the multi-mission capability of the aircraft, and also blunts calls for the Air Force to procure a dedicated FB-22 Strike Raptor. The FB-22 is still receiving attention as an interim bomber that would allow the B-52 to retire before a true replacement can be developed.

X-44 MANTA Multi-Axis No-Tail Airplane

Click on Picture to enlarge

The X-44 designation is said to be reserved for possible NASA full-scale manned tailless flight control demonstrator. The X-44A has been referred to as the MANTA, or Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft. A conceptual drawing of an X-44 is said to resemble a tailless F-22, and is said to be based on an F-22 airframe, engines and systems. The X-44A thrust-vectoring test aircraft would have pitch/yaw vectoring nozzles and would not only be tailless but would have no moveable aerodynamic surfaces.

The X-44 MANTA is a converted delta-winged F-22 which uses vectored thrust as its sole means of control. The plan is to convert an F-22 so that it uses its thrust vectoring nozzles for its flight control, without rudders, stabilitors, or ailerons. MANTA could be used to validate the planform for the FB-22. MANTA flights could begin by 2006.

Thrust vectoring -- the ability to turn the jet exhaust -- allows an aircraft to create forces with its motors similar to the forces created by aerodynamic surfaces such as flaps, rudders & stabilators. The result would be a structurally simple, light airframe, with increased fuel volume and fewer gaps to cause stealth problems. An X-44A feasibility study is in progress, with a team including AFRL, NASA, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney.

The X-44A is unlikely to fly before 2007, though the F-22 program will retire the first and second flying prototypes in 2001-02.