Why the F-22's intended peer opponent never appeared

Was the F-22 a next-generation aircraft that never received a peer opponent?

Yes. The expected Soviet threat failed to materialize, and the Soviet collapse weakened the strategic justification for the aircraft.

The F-22 is presented as an aircraft designed to defeat a projected Soviet threat that never materialized. The United States had developed the F-15 against Soviet capabilities, then used the F-15 itself as a benchmark when the next Soviet aircraft remained uncertain. The Soviet Union lacked the capacity to produce the expected opponent and then collapsed, weakening the strategic justification for the new fighter. The aircraft's likely maintenance burden is treated as a cost of attempting such advanced performance. The absence of the expected threat is distinguished from an aircraft failing to meet its design requirement.