F-22 Raptor

From WikiCover

The F-22 is produced by Lockheed Martin in partnership with Boeing and Pratt and Whitney with parts and subsystems provided by nearly a thousand suppliers in forty-four U.S. states. F-22 production takes place at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facilities in Marietta, Georgia; Fort Worth, Texas; Palmdale, California; and Meridian, Mississippi, as well as at Boeing's plant in Seattle, Washington. Final assembly and initial flight testing of the Raptor occur in Marietta.

On July 31, 2007, Lockheed received an additional $5 billion from the U.S. Air Force for three lots of F-22 Raptor air dominance fighters. This brings the total multi-year contract value to $7.3 billion and extends the production of the aircraft through the year 2011.

The U.S. government previously awarded $2.3 billion of the contract to buy long lead-time parts and maintain continuous manufacturing flow. The aircraft will be built at a rate of twenty per year, with deliveries starting in late 2008.

The F-22A Raptor, which replaced the F-15, is the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft, combining stealth, speed and agility and representing an exponential leap in warfighting capabilities. In addition to the high-speed, fiber optic components, Harris Corporation provides the fiber-optic lab test equipment for the program, as well as the aircraft's Data Acquisition Unit (DAU).