F-22 Enters Full Rate Production in U.S Airforce


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lockheed martin proudly announces that the F/A-22 Raptor Enters Full-rate Production

MARIETTA, Ga. , April 19, 2005 -- The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F/A-22 Raptor fighter aircraft has been given the green light by Department of Defense acquisition officials to enter into full-rate production.

An acquisition decision information paper released by the Department of Defense on April 18 states "The Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) [Michael W. Wynne] approved the full rate production capability of the F/A-22." This decision officially transitions the Air Force's premier fighter program to a new level of confidence and maturity.

"This is great news for warfighters whether they are soldiers on the ground or airmen guarding the skies," said Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company executive vice president and general manager of the F/A-22 program.

"This decision reflects confidence in the performance of the aircraft demonstrated during an exhaustive Independent Operational Test & Evaluation program as well as the team's proven ability to produce the aircraft," Lawson added. "This is the culmination of a tremendous effort put forward by many in the Air Force as well as industry. The Raptor team understands the overwhelming capability the F/A-22 provides is vital today and must also be relevant for three to four decades to come."

This F/A-22 program milestone follows initial operational test findings in February and March by both the Air Force and the Department of Defense, which judged the aircraft to be "overwhelming effective" in its performance. Air Force pilots will be able to dominate any engagement with the Raptor. The F/A-22 will provide protection for troops no matter where they are, to an extent never before possible.

The F/A-22 Raptor, the world's most advanced fighter, is built by Lockheed Martin in partnership with Boeing and Pratt & Whitney. Parts and subsystems are provided by approximately 1,000 suppliers in 42 states. F/A-22 production takes place at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facilities in Palmdale, Calif.; Meridian, Miss.; Marietta, Ga.; and Fort Worth, Texas, as well as at Boeing's plant in Seattle, Wash. Final assembly and initial flight testing of the Raptor occurs at the Marietta plant facilities.

The Raptor is slated to reach initial operational capability in December 2005 at Langley Air Force Base, Va. The F/A-22's balanced design of stealth, supercruise speed, supportability and super-agility, along with its advanced integrated avionics, will enable combat commanders to change the way future wars are fought.

Lockheed Martin Corporation

There you could find more information about the f-22 capabilities,design and systems :)

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I can't help but feel that the money could be better spent elsewhere in the military. I mean if they're gonna go with this whole war on terror thing for a good few years then what's the need for these? What they've got will do. It seems they're doing this because they can rather then because they need to. But if it's to last decades, then who knows.

But then I know nothing about the US military setup so I could be spouting out of my ass.

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Well dazzla i can tell you that operational costs of the F-22 raptor are 40% lower than the actual F-15.The war on terror isn't the only important factor of upgrading all military technology throughout all the branches,not only the U.S Airforce.This aicraft was concieved in the 1990's aprox,the idea of modernizing the military and stay in spot #1 comes mainly from the World War 2.

:yes:

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Is this the aircraft that resulted from the Boeing vs Lockheed head to head?

And what's the status with unmanned planes? Didn't Boeing win a huge contract for that? Surely that's the way forward.

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yes it's the same that won over the rival boeing's aircraft

The unmanned aircrafts are different i suppose,these have some limitations about operating in defensive and attacking maneuvers.i have little knowledge in this area.this technology is already being adopted in the U.S army in this moment.

i think each type of flight, the (UAV's),and piloted aircrafts will have their place in the future aviation,

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I like this move by the USA. It can't hurt to have the best but I do agree on spending money more responsibly. The govt will always blow money on crap, like the billions they just spent on new updated designs of uniforms. :confused:

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updated designs of uniforms is just more than prettyfying....

its functionality(pockets, zipers/ect) , changing to match the body types that come in(really supposelly people taller/also for generalbuild/quick get up), camoflaug, better movement

same goes for the plane...

though i find it strange, because i thought they were already into full production like 2-3 years ago.....

also did not know the operating cost of the F/A-22 was 40% less then the F-15...

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though i find it strange, because i thought they were already into full production like 2-3 years ago.....

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yes,2-3 years ago ,there were several models produced for test purposes,and went into low-rate production,the first bases who had the chance to test this beauty was langley airforce base-virginia,and edwards airforce-california base i think.

prototypes were built around 1985-1990

some images here :D

post-69181-1114987380.jpg

post-69181-1114987416.jpg

Edited by EduardValencia
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I can't help but feel that the money could be better spent elsewhere in the military. I mean if they're gonna go with this whole war on terror thing for a good few years then what's the need for these? What they've got will do. It seems they're doing this because they can rather then because they need to. But if it's to last decades, then who knows.

But then I know nothing about the US military setup so I could be spouting out of my ass.

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im a bit 50/50 on this subject. i think they could of spent more money on aircraft similar to F-14/15 and cheaper aircraft like the F-16/18s, but on the other hand preventing war is all about assumption of ones military power. yes the f/a-22 is expensive but its very powerful, therefore, causing nations to evaluate the worth of attacking the US. its one reason why we have so many subs on patrol.

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preventing war is all about assumption of ones military power.  yes the f/a-22 is expensive but its very powerful, therefore, causing nations to evaluate the worth of attacking the US.  its one reason why we have so many subs on patrol.

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I couldn't disagree more! Do you not remember the cold war? Arming ones self to the teeth only leads to a buildup of fear and tension between nations. Stopping a war should be done through democratic and negotiable channels.

This "Mines Bigger" syndrome that grips North America has got to stop. Its going to get us all blown to pieces!

-Ax

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im a bit 50/50 on this subject.  i think they could of spent more money on aircraft similar to F-14/15 and cheaper aircraft like the F-16/18s, but on the other hand preventing war is all about assumption of ones military power.  yes the f/a-22 is expensive but its very powerful, therefore, causing nations to evaluate the worth of attacking the US.  its one reason why we have so many subs on patrol.

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Buying the aircraft is expensive,but the operational costs are 40% lower,this will relief many military budget that can be used in something else (like social investment or else).America need to find ways to mantain their military power at the first place,for a minimum operational cost.well remember that constant advancements in the military field can be applied to civilian purposes ;)

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Buying the aircraft is expensive,but the operational costs are 40% lower,this will relief many military budget that can be used in something else (like social investment or else).America need to find ways to mantain their military power at the first place,for a minimum operational cost.well remember that constant advancements in the military field can be applied to civilian purposes  ;)

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That's like saying, "buy a hybrid car cos it uses less fuel", it may use less fuel, but costs twice as much as an equivalent petrol car, meaning you don't save up for at least 5-6 years really, + the energy used to load up the batteries or whatever it is that powers it actually does more damage to the planet than just burning the petrol straight away in the engine, so you can't use the "green" argument either.

Point is, this F22 is not only irreasonably expensive, it's already obsolete as the JSF is going to take it over (half the price, VTOL, faster, more modern equipement...)

And let's face it, where is it needed? To protect Langley from terrorist suicide bombers which only exist in the CIA's imagination I guess. not that the current F15,16,17,18 etc. can't do the job already.

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I couldn't disagree more! Do you not remember the cold war? Arming ones self to the teeth only leads to a buildup of fear and tension between nations. Stopping a war should be done through democratic and negotiable channels.

This "Mines Bigger" syndrome that grips North America has got to stop. Its going to get us all blown to pieces!

-Ax

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I think you have a good point. But I see this as more or less an upgrade rather than arming themselves to the teeth.

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I think you have a good point. But I see this as more or less an upgrade rather than arming themselves to the teeth.

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And it is no doubt an impressive jet. Hopefully the technological innovations will spread beyond military applications.

-Ax

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no....not at all....

its stealth.....so not a civilian use

let alone the advanced targeting systems....

and the missles.....and the guns.....

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It part of a long term re-modernization and restructuring of the armed forces. We are going to be moving to smaller ships instead of gigantic ones. Newer more adaptable aircraft will be replacing older high maintenance craft. The uniforms are actually a bit more comfortable and offer a little better flexibility, they also breath better as a side note. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money ... its an old business idea. Upgrading the servers in your IT organization to something that costs less to maintaine will save money in the long term whereas the extra costs look nasty in the short term.

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And it is no doubt an impressive jet. Hopefully the technological innovations will spread beyond military applications.

-Ax

585864500[/snapback]

no....not at all....

its stealth.....so not a civilian use

let alone the advanced targeting systems....

and the missles.....and the guns.....

You never know I guess...they could possibly find civilian applications for internal parts of the plane that may apply to mass transit or something. I'm not an airplane guru but I'm sure some of the innovations can apply...(hopefully)

Edited by DreAming in DigITal
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Oh this aircraft is sweet. My favorite has been the F-16, but this one may take it's place. I just wish they were going to have a flying demonstration of this at the air show this year....

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That's like saying, "buy a hybrid car cos it uses less fuel", it may use less fuel, but costs twice as much as an equivalent petrol car, meaning you don't save up for at least 5-6 years really, + the energy used to load up the batteries or whatever it is that powers it actually does more damage to the planet than just burning the petrol straight away in the engine, so you can't use the "green" argument either.

Point is, this F22 is not only irreasonably expensive, it's already obsolete as the JSF is going to take it over (half the price, VTOL, faster, more modern equipement...)

And let's face it, where is it needed? To protect Langley from terrorist suicide bombers which only exist in the CIA's imagination I guess. not that the current F15,16,17,18 etc. can't do the job already.

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The F-22 isn't irreasonable expensive,this aircraft will be in service for aprox 15-20 years,the goverment will save their money fro plenty of time,don't worry,the total cost including pilot training,manteinance,upgrading will be around 100 million per unit.

remember that good and solid business are in the red numbers the firts periods.

By the way the F-22 is much more advanced (this means more versatile,more ammo load etc etc) than the F-35,if you want some information about the specs of each one PM me,i could give it to you

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I saw a documentary on making of F-22 few months ago on PBS.. There was two companies on teh bod ( lockhead martin and boing).. Also one of the peoperties of this place is that it should be able to fly and stand still in air like helicopters. Both companies made different technologies, but there was glitch with boing at last minute.. the whole series was like 3 hours.. may be its still there on PBS website..

edit: here its is:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3004_xplanes.html

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yes f22 is a vtol fighter

my fav is still the tomcat. f14 arrghhaararhghh

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I saw a documentary on making of F-22 few months ago on PBS.. There was two companies on teh bod ( lockhead martin and boing).. Also one of the peoperties of this place is that it should be able to fly and stand still in air like helicopters. Both companies made different technologies, but there was glitch with boing at last minute.. the whole series was like 3 hours.. may be its still there on PBS website..

edit: here its is:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3004_xplanes.html

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Thats the joint strike fighter not the F-22.

There was no way the F-22 would be cancelled, too much money and too much PR has been spent on this program. It was inevitable that full rate production would be ordered.

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