FORT WORTH, Texas, 14 Nov. 2005. U.S. Air Force leaders are swinging the F/A-22 Raptor strike fighter program into high-rate production with the award Nov. 10 of a $39.9 million contract to Lockheed Martin Corp. to build 24 lot 6 aircraft.
The F/A-22 is a stealthy replacement for the Air Force F-15 Eagle jet fighter, and this year is taking over the air superiority role for the Air Force Air Combat Command.
Full-rate production of the F/A-22 began last April, and the aircraft should reach initial operational capability next month at Langley Air Force Base, Va. The plane has been in development since 1991.
Building the aircraft are engineers at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth, Texas, and Marietta, Ga. Other primary contractors involved in F/A-22 production are the Boeing Co. in Seattle, and Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, Conn.
Awarding the contract were officials at the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The contract number is FA8611-05-C-2850/P00006.
Lockheed Martin is the lead contractor on the F/A-22 program. Boeing builds the Raptor's wings, aft-fuselage, handles avionics integration, and provides 70 percent of the aircraft's mission software. Pratt & Whitney provides the engines.
