In 1965, the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, advised the USAF to consolidate it's aircraft assortment by selecting a single multirole air superiority fighter (much to GEN Curtis LeMay's objections and ongoing chagrin).  The aircraft would effectively initiate the phasing out of the century aircraft, such as the F-100.  The initial push was to use an already ongoing research project - the F-X program - to meet the needs of replacing even more aircraft.  The requirement called for a fighter capable of Mach 2.5 and could fulfill a ground-attack mission set.  The U.S. military was beginning to favor single-set designs for their applications, such as the F-4 Phantom II which had been purchased by the U.S. Navy, Marines, and the USAF.  Mission set demands turned to production urgency, when the Soviet Union announced it's MiG-25 in 1967.  The fighter was capable of exceeding Mach 2.5, meaning that the need for closing the gap was much more immanent.

The USAF selected McDonnell Douglas's concept for an air superiority fighter late in 1967, but in the meantime, the Navy had opted to break away from waiting on USAF decisions.  It opted to go with the VFX program, which would eventually produce the F-14 Tomcat.  The selected USAF design in 1967 finally produced project designs in 1968.  The final design proposal was accepted late in 1969, and resembled a non-variable wing version of the F-14.  These wings were later updated to improve strength at higher speeds, thus giving a more delta shape.  This final revision was the F-15A Eagle - also referred to as the Streak Eagle.

The first flight was in 1972, with the introduction into the USAF following in 1976.  The design more than met the requirements outlined by the Air Force, and subsequent revisions on the design were proposed and injected later in the projects development.  This included export models, all-weather models, and even naval models.  Subsequent updates and revisions led to the introduction of the F-15E Strike Eagle - a slightly larger and heavier ground-attack variant - in 1989.  By the time the Berlin Wall collapsed, the need for high-speed and high-altitude deterrents saw a changing set of mission requirements again.  In fact, the requirement for an upper hand on the Soviet MiG-25 and MiG-31 had been submitted already in 1981.  After all, high speed was great, but what if you could just hide in plain sight...waiting for the enemy to come to you?  Better yet, what if the enemy never even saw you coming?

The initial requirements for what would become the ATF program find their origins in 1981, when the USAF began to examine options for replacing the F-15 Eagle.  By this time, the USAF had four successful stealth aircraft that had navigated through it's channels.  Three of those were from the Blackbird family, while the other was the Nighthawk - another aircraft that grew out of Lockheed's Skunk Works.  The USAF was ready to make stealth a standard part of it's requirements in future requests for information and proposals.  In addition to stealth, there were requirements specified for super cruise and short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL).

By 1985, the USAF was prepared to begin receiving design proposals.  No fewer than twenty different designs were submitted by seven different defense contractors.

Boeing's proposal that was created by it's Phantom Works, was cannibalized and repurposed later by Rockwell for it's X-31 project in 1990.  The research derived from this design eventually went on to aid development on the Eurofighter Typhoon.  The other Boeing concept borrowed on designs from contemporary Soviet aircraft (such as the Su-27) with modified vertical stabilizers.

Grumman's proposal borrowed technology from their ongoing research on their F-5 platform.  ATF-G1 resembled the X-29 with forward swept wings and front mounted canards.

Lockheed's original proposal resembled what seemed to be a design that cannibalized the Blackbird family, featuring modified airframe, similarly powerful engines, and canards.  Lockheed's final iteration would be radically modified and changed from this submission.

Two of three Northrop designs resembled their eventual concept that went to the prototype phase.  The Missileer is the design that Northrop pursued for the program upon their selection.

The cooperation was unique in the ATF program.  Whichever two contractors were selected, some of the remaining contractors would provide developmental aid in a predetermined partnership.  When Lockheed and Northrop were selected, the RDE teams were divided according to these agreements. (Lockheed worked with General Dynamics, and Boeing.  Northrop worked with McDonnell Douglas.)  The selection for these two contractors was made in July of 1986.

Ongoing research and development projects were being used to collect data during the duration of the building phase.  For example, McDonnell Douglas was collecting data on the F-15S/MTD through NASA's Dryden Test Research Center.  Data on thrust-vectoring and STOL technology was being accumulated to get a better grasp and understanding of how the technology interacted with different airframe concepts.  After years of research, the prototypes were ready in 1990 for their first flight.

If you believed that is all there was, is, or will be to this story, you'd be grossly mistaken.  No, in fact, you'd be just wrong.

In 2016, the USAF re-examined the restart of production of the F-22 Raptor for an additional 194 aircraft.  While it was determined at the time that cost exceeded the value, additional examinations of the feasibility of restoring the F-22 program have been introduced since due to the ongoing struggles in the F-35 Lightning II program.  It is far from certain - rather unlikely - that production would resume on new F-22 airframes, however there is precedent for such a move within the USAF.  Therefore, it is entirely possible that production of the F-22 could resume sometime in the future, albeit slim.

The F-22's trial and paces did not end with the single variant of the F-22A.  Rather, there were at least three other designs that were proposed variants of the F-22 between 1993 and 2008.  This includes the original production map which indicated both a single-seat F-22A, and a twin-seat F-22B.  The F-22B, despite being outlined in the production map was never produced, and no known model was ever even produced of such an aircraft.

At the time of the ATF program, as previously mentioned, the Navy was also looking at a replacement for it's aging F-14 Tomcat. Both ATF contenders were engaged in working with the Navy on fulfilling this requirement ahead of it's cancellation in 1992.  Lockheed's proposal was the F-22N, a swing-wing version of the F-22 that would also carry an arresting hook for carrier operations.  The aircraft never left the drawing board, and the only images of anything like it are artistic renderings and paintings that were simply used for illustration.  It is not known how swing-wing technology may have impacted the RCS of the aircraft either.

Another proposed variant of the F-22 was the F/B-22, a fighter-bomber aircraft capable of delivering quick-strikes on targets in contended airspace.  The proposed aircraft would have been the replacement for the F-15E Strike Eagle, but cost effectiveness coupled with ongoing proven results with existing technology led to this concept being abandoned.  It was momentarily restored 2004, when the USAF announced the need for a new interim bomber, where it gained traction in aviation circles.  The F/B-22 would have been a blended-delta-wing aircraft that would incorporate the same main body chassis and engines as the F-22, with dual internal bays capable of heavier payloads.  However, this aircraft was effectively shelved when the USAF announced it was moving to the Next-Generation Bomber program which required an aircraft with greater range.  This program eventually evolved into the B-21 Raider program.

The most interesting variant, however, was the X-44 MANTA project that was proposed by Lockheed in 1997.  MANTA stood for Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft, and the renderings of the X-44 certainly show a unique depiction of such a concept.  The X-44 was to feature a tapered blended-wing design with no tail, essentially keeping the rest of the aircraft body the same as the production F-22.  Control was maintained entirely through use of thrust vectoring, while larger wings enabled a greater payload, better fuel capacity, better range, and fewer working parts.  The project ran parallel and was slightly inspired by the McDonnell Douglas / Boeing X-36 TFARA (Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft) that flew the same year.  The X-44, however, never left the drawing board, and outside of an isolated artistic rendering or two, nothing ever came of it beyond feasibility studies.  It's contender in the X-36 program also was terminated by 2002, despite generally high-performing results in a scaled down study.

Other variants have been proposed in the span of the time from prototype to service, however none have come to fruition.  The X-35 program borrowed RDE from the F-22 program in the JSF program, however it is not inherently a variant of the F-22.  However, it's existence has effectively ended any alternative purposes for the previously planned F-22 variants, and therefore it is unlikely that any future production on the F-22 platform or production line is on the horizon.

The F-22 remains in ready service with the USAF and is expected to remain so through at least 2040.

In 2008, a requirement was outlined that signaled that the constant that is change was about to occur once again.  That generational change that transforms, not just modifies.  The USAF described a preliminary requirement for a sixth generation aircraft.  Thus far, to public knowledge, the only one to respond to this request has been Boeing.  The F/A-XX program has been outlined to complement the F-35 program and to replace the F/A-18E & F Super Hornets.  This would place it sometime in the 2025-2035 timeframe.  The Boeing design has evolved since 2008.  The latest 2013 rendering includes a tailless design, tapered-full-delta wings, front canards, thrust vectoring, and even a slave-drone tagalong.  All of these things had been presented in some shape, way, or form through various designs and variants over twenty years earlier in the ATF program.

It's difficult to claim that there is a conclusion to something that is ongoing, be that a project, evolution, or mission.  As we have explored, the tale isn't over here yet, and many of these subjects could include miles upon miles of additional writing and research.  The YF-22 entering service as the F-22 means that it's tale is far from over.  NASA's involvement with the ATF program could certainly imply eventual test evaluation and research of the F-22 platform down the road, leading to even more variations and designs that currently aren't seen as a priority.  Meanwhile, Northrop's design almost certainly lives on in some form, be that simply in a closet somewhere, research sharing with a foreign ally, or something else that we don't see right now.  And what of Boeing's work in the F/A-XX program?  Surely Lockheed and Northrop will have something to present for such a project.  Will we see the YF-23 return in some way in the F/A-XX program?  How will Lockheed proceed?  It's all a matter of perspective and waiting to see what comes of it.

However, one thing is for certain, all things are within a pattern of evolution.  Now it's just a question of if we skipped a step in 1988, or if we're about to see another major advance today.  Regardless, this has been the tale of how the first fifth generation fighter and it's sister were born.