Initial operational test and evaluation began in April 2004 and was successfully completed in February 2005. The decision to proceed to low-rate initial production (LRIP) was authorised in August 2001 and Lockheed Martin delivered 49 aircraft under LRIP contracts. The aircraft’s designation was changed again to F-22A when it achieved initial operating capability (IOC) in December 2005. In September 2002, the USAF decided to redesignate the aircraft F/A-22 to reflect its multi-mission capability in ground attack as well as air-to-air roles. The first F-22 fighter aircraft was unveiled in April 1997 and was given the name Raptor. F-22A Raptor developmentīy 1990 Lockheed Martin, teamed with Boeing and General Dynamics, had built and flown the demonstration prototype aircraft, designated YF-22. Lockheed Martin received a $7bn five-year contract to maintain the USAF fleet of F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, in December 2019.
The last produced F-22 was delivered in 2012 and 183 F-22 aircraft are currently in service with the USAF.
In April 2009, production of the F-22 fighter jet was officially terminated when Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the Pentagon would end the Lockheed-run F-22 programme and increase the production of the F-35 joint strike fighter. It entered service with the USAF in December 2005 to replace the F-15, with emphasis on agility, stealth and range.ĭeveloped at Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the F-22A Raptor is a supersonic, dual-engine fighter jet, which has won the 2006 Robert J Collier Trophy from the American National Aeronautic Association (NAA). The F-22A Raptor is an advanced tactical fighter aircraft developed for the US Air Force (USAF).
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