What makes 5th-generation fighter jets different from earlier jets
Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock/USAF The US became the first country to field a 5th-generation fighter when the F-22 Raptor first flew in 2005. Since then, China and Russia have introduced their own 5th-generation jets, and the US has fielded another one, the F-35. Here's what sets this latest generation of fighters from the generations before them. In 2005, the United States became the first nation on earth to field an operational 5th-generation fighter in the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. When you look at the F-22 compared to its 4th-generation predecessors, the aircraf...