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The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft.As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed as an air superiority fighter, but also incorporates ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities.
The production engines were fitted on the production F-22, and were first flown on the F-22's maiden flight on 7 September 1997. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] A total of 507 engines were produced. [ 10 ] The F119 Heavy Maintenance Center (HMC) for depot overhaul is located at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, with the first overall completed in 2013.
These scaled-down demonstrators, built in only 18 months, were a revolutionary step forward in aviation technology because of their extremely small radar cross-section. After a series of successful test flights beginning in 1977, the Air force awarded Skunk Works the contract to build the F-117 stealth fighter on November 1, 1978.
The F-22 Raptor is the top US fighter, known for stealth, speed and agility. ... "It's all built based on safety." From demos back to duty. Condensation trails emerge from the wings of an F-22 ...
Such aircraft are sophisticated and expensive. The fifth generation was ushered in by the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor in late 2005. The U.S. Air Force originally planned to acquire 650 F-22s, but now only 187 will be built. As a result, its unit flyaway cost (FAC) is around US$150 million.
Flight testing for the F-22 continued until 2005, and on 15 December 2005 the USAF announced that the Raptor had reached its initial operational capability (IOC); with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Department of Defense focused on counterinsurgency at that time, F-22 production only reached 195 aircraft and ended in 2011. [67] [68]
The last of 3,620 F-16s was built there in late 2017 after more than 39 years and then production moved to another factory in Greenville, South Carolina. In March 1992 Lockheed began to produce F-22 Raptor aircraft components at the facility. Additionally, the plant produces spare aircraft parts, radar units, and missile components.
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