In a report to the US Congress released on June 18, the US Air Force argued that reducing the F-22 fleet would help the military have a budget for modernizing stealth fighters. The Air Force proposed to phase out older F-22 fighters, which are mainly used for training and testing, according to The War Zone .

However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that the US Air Force did not provide a detailed plan for the F-22 replacement training program, nor did it assess the risks of having to deploy mission-ready F-22s back for training.

"The Air Force believed that eliminating the Block 20 F-22s would reduce costs, but it did not consider additional costs, such as maintenance costs, to increase operations to compensate for the lack of aircraft," the GAO report said.

Currently, 90% of F-22 basic pilot training uses Block 20 fighters. According to the GAO, if the Air Force's plan is approved, combat-ready aircraft in Block 30 and 35 would have to take on additional training missions, thereby increasing maintenance costs.

The War Zone quoted experts as saying that the F-22s that the US Air Force wants to retire are still useful for testing weapons, creating the premise for the project to develop a new generation of stealth fighters that Washington is building.

Introduced in 2005, the F-22 fighter jet, nicknamed "Raptor", is considered one of the most modern fighter jets in the world, with the ability to carry air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, along with advanced stealth technology. According to the US Air Force website, there are currently 183 F-22s in service. The US Congress has banned the sale of the F-22 to foreign countries, due to concerns about revealing secrets about its stealth capabilities.

According to The Aviationist on June 18, the F-22A squadron produced by Lockheed Martin has reached a total flight milestone of 500,000 hours.