100th F-22 delivered

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phoenix80

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9/4/2007 - MARIETTA, Ga. (AFPN) -- Air Force officials received the 100th F-22 Raptor from Lockheed Martin in Aug. 29 ceremonies in Marietta.

The milestone aircraft -- Air Force serial number 05-0100 -- will be assigned to the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne signed the Defense Department 250 Form, the official government acceptance document, at the ceremony. The 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB is expected to receive its full complement of 20 F-22s by the fall of 2008.

The F-22 is the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft. Its combination of stealth, supercruise, maneuverabilit, and integrated avionics, coupled with improved supportability, represents an exponential leap in warfighting capabilities.

Starting with the first parts being made, production of each F-22 takes a total span of approximately 30 months. The various parts are sent to the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta for final assembly. With 30 positions on the assembly line in the 3.5 million square foot main production building in Marietta, the elapsed time in the major mate and final assembly process is approximately 12 months.

F-22s are currently assigned to five bases. Flight testing takes place at Edwards AFB, Calif. Operational tactics development is ongoing at Nellis AFB, Nev. Pilot and crew chief training takes place at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Operational F-22s are assigned to Langley AFB, Va., and at Elmendorf AFB. F-22s will also be based at Holloman AFB, N.M., and Hickam AFB, Hawaii.

"The F-22 is a testament to the skills of engineers and technicians from more than 1,000 companies across America," said Larry Lawson, the Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-22 program general manager. "This delivery marks a significant milestone for the Air Force and the F-22 program. The Raptor is providing top cover for America and our allies. We have developed the most capable fighter in the world, which is exactly what the men and women defending us deserve."

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123066644
 
Fox said:
Right. But they could be allied with China or Russia. Just like the Korean War.
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Except that North Korea now has very strained relations with both countries.


The problem with the F-22 is that it is extremely expensive, I cannot help but wonder that despite the effectiveness of the aircraft the money isn't better spent elsewhere.
 
The F-22 is worth it because nothing in the air is anything close to it.
Basically with your F-22s and JSFs coming in, you will have a complete fleet of stealth combat aircraft. The potential of air superiority against any foe will be insane. You will own every piece of the sky anywhere your planes can reach.
Also, with aircraft like the F-22, fighter wings probably won't have to be as big as they used to be.
 
They are a threat to South Korea. A big threat at that. But North Korea's chances of actually taking out the US is virtually zero.
 
F-22 Numbers

I agree with the_13th_redneck that with the US Air Force coming in with two stealth types nothing can touch that overall. I believe or hope once NK kills off their current leader or he dies NK will change. Then and only then might relations between them and China change and only if they bow down to their Chinese masters in a sense. Currently both China and Russia aren't on NK favorite country list, but things can change. Military wise NK equipment is older and not supported well but still have a few ways of hurting the south. Nukes if they have them and a true way of delivering them. Next different cruise some which can hit SK and Japan a major allied and a huge part of our economy. Lastly artillery isn't there something like a thousand or more cannons facing the south some is harden bunkers that would difficult to knock out. Isn't Soul in range of a lot of these tubes and I assume heavy rocket batteries as well. I'm sure some could knockout and assume some incoming rockets shot down but stopping all those artillery shells from hitting would seem a difficult task. I don't know how SK defenses are setup but what if NK artillery batteries fired 10 rounds each before being knockout, how bad would the loses be? Some would be able to fire a lot more then ten rounds too. How do you counter a thousand or more pieces of artillery being fired at your positions? I know aircraft wise SK even without our help would do very well clearing the skies and I'm sure navy wise as well.
 
The arty is the issue. Casualty figures up to a million civilian dead from artillery alone is not hard to believe. If you go to Seoul, you will see what I mean. You got people stacked together like sardines. Use chemical or biological attacks and I would be surprised if the death toll was under a million.
But air superiority, North Korea is practically a non issue.
 
the_13th_redneck said:
The F-22 is worth it because nothing in the air is anything close to it.
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What about the claim in Wikipedia, sourced from International Air Power Review, that stated that 2 British Eurofighter Typhoons outfought 2 F-22s recently during testing at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. The Typhoons were able to dominate within visual range but also achieved locks on the F-22s at beyond visual range. That would seem to suggest that the F-22 is not as all conquering as some would believe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-22_Raptor#_note-8
 
The answer to that is clear, but how relevant is it? I am not a particular fan-boy of either aircraft (both are fantastic machines) but I did find it interesting that the Eurofighter was able to lock onto a Raptor at BVR, where stealthiness would be a factor. Given that an individual F-22 is over twice the cost of an individual Typhoon how cost-effective is the the F-22 in reality?
 
It's only a matter of time, until someone else, gets enough funds to
outclass the Raptor... I am certain of it...
 
Well I would say the answer is no. The Saudis (a close ally of the US and a very oil-rich country) chose the Eurofighter over the F-22 but which tells its own story. For even these guys the cost of the F-22 was probably a factor in their decision.
 
Lock on a F-22 what?

Doppleganger can you provide any other link or source then Wikipedia. I never heard of this once, nothing zip O. Only two F-22 kills and their maybes. One maybe a not real Hud shot picture by a Hornet and a simulated Viper kill because the F-22 pilot thought he was dead but that's it. This would have been covered in every aviation forum fifty times over. Don't you think it's a little odd that it's only in Wikipedia? The F-22 is not twice th cost of a Typhoon with cost over runs and the latest upgrades and from a British news paper I read $186 million per. That is not double the price of an F22. I'm e-mailing the guy who help convert pounds to dollars for me and came UP with that price but he must on vacation or something and he's not responding. PM in in a few days I if I don't post it but the Typhoon has huge cost overruns attached to.
 
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The UK intends to procure 232 aircraft to replace the Tornado F3 and the Jaguar. Deliveries to the Royal Air Force began in June 2002 and are scheduled to run until the year 2014. The current estimated total procurement cost of the program to the UK is £15.9Bn.
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One disadvantage in the Typhoon's $58 million price. It is more expensive than the $30 million F-16, while the F-35 is expected to cost on average about $50 million when it comes into production.
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http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/eurofighter.htm

I have a bit more faith in globalsecurity.org than I do in Wiki. This suggests that the base price of the Typhoon is $58 mil. 15.2 billion BP is about 31.6 billion USD at current rates.
 
Well isn't that interesting! The passage I referred to in Wiki has now been removed, along with the footnote. It wasn't someone on this forum was it? :m16shoot:

The article yesterday referenced International Air Power Review, a well-known and AFAIK a well-respected military publication. As someone has edited the Wiki article I can no longer give the exact source. However, I think it was 'International Air Power Review, Vol 19', published in 1st quarter, 2006.

The new footnote in Wiki now has a different reference, a website that has no mention of any EF-2000s at all.
 
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