Yes, The United States Wanted To Turn The F-22 Into A Bomber
Key point: The F-22 should never have been canceled.
China is working on a medium-range stealth bomber, a bridge between the J-20 stealth fighter and the larger strategic bomber the People’s Liberation Army Air Force has long sought. News of this project has rekindled interest in the story of America’s own abortive stealth medium-bomber, if not in the acquisition of the aircraft itself.
Indeed, for a short time the United States strongly considered building its own stealth medium bomber, based on the F-22 Raptor. A collision of short-term need and long-range thinking killed the FB-22 “T-Rex” before it could get off the drawing board.
Design:
The T-Rex took as much as possible from its sister-vehicle, the F-22. Lockheed Martin hoped that the commonality of parts and design between the two aircraft could keep costs low, relative to expectations for a fifth-generation fighter bomber. Using the F-22 fuselage with a larger (delta) wing, the FB-22 would have been fast (mach 1.92) with a long range (1600 miles, compared to 600 for the Raptor). It would have carried 15000# of ordnance in a stealth configuration, and roughly double that in non-stealth mode. The designers also included some provision for wing pods and hard points that would have allowed the aircraft to remain stealthy while carrying external fuel or weapons. Although not much of a dogfighter, the FB-22 would have retained some degree of air-to-air combat capability.
Purpose:
The FB-22 would have filled a medium bomber niche that has long existed between fighter-bombers and attack aircraft on the one side, and strategic bombers on the other. In World War II the B-25 Mitchell filled the role. In the immediate post-war period medium bombers played both conventional and nuclear roles, with such aircraft as the B-47 Stratojet offering a high speed, medium range option for striking the Soviet Union. Medium bombers played important conventional roles in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and in a variety of other small conflicts from the 1960s until the 1990s. These aircraft included the B-57 Canberra, the F-105 Thunderchief (more of a heavy fighter-bomber configured into a medium bomber role), and the FB-111 Aardvark, a large interceptor that proved ideal for a medium bombing mission.
