Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor ready for combat, Air Force says

Posted on: Dec. 15th, 2005 || Source: aimpoints.hq.af.mil | E-mail Article | Print Article

Lockheed Martin Corp's F-22A Raptor stealth fighter, the most expensive fighter plane ever built, is ready for wartime operations, the Air Force's top combat commander said today.

“If we go to war tomorrow, the Raptor will be with us,” Air Combat Command General Ronald Keys wrote of a plane that's weathered congressional and public debate on its relevance post-Cold War. The Air Force says it needs at least 381 Raptors but the Pentagon plans to buy only about 180 though 2010. Lockheed already has delivered 56. Boeing Co. is the top subcontractor.

Keys announced the plane's readiness in a memo to Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne. The aircraft will initially be based with the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.

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