Defense Career
Aerial Warfare

US Air Force F-22 Raptor Fleet Recently Reached 500,000 Flight Hours

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US Air Force F-22 Raptor Fleet Recently Reached 500,000 Flight Hours

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US Air Force F-22 Raptor Fleet Recently Reached 500,000 Flight Hours
US Air Force F-22 Raptor Fleet Recently Reached 500,000 Flight Hours

Since its introduction over 25 years ago, the F-22 Raptor has been at the forefront of air superiority, demonstrating unparalleled capabilities across diverse missions worldwide. Its proven performance and continued incorporation of advanced technologies make it the world’s premier air dominance fighter. This milestone and the journey to it is a testament to the dedication and expertise of the entire industry and Air Force team, including pilots, maintenance crews and support personnel. Their unwavering commitment to excellence ensures the F-22’s operational readiness and effectiveness as a strategic deterrent.

Lockheed Martin is focused on the F-22’s connectivity with other platforms in support of the Air Force’s Joint All-Domain Operations strategy. The Collier Award-winning F-22 Raptor first took flight on Sept. 7, 1997 in Marietta, Georgia, after six years of development. It has delivered on its promise to provide unprecedented air dominance. Today, the Raptor continues to provide our nation and allies air superiority and is a pathfinder to next-generation technologies. The 5th Generation F-22’s unique combination of stealth, speed, agility, and situational awareness, combined with lethal long-range air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry, makes it the best air dominance fighter in the world.

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The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine all-weather stealth fighter aircraft developed and produced for the United States Air Force (USAF).
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine all-weather stealth fighter aircraft developed and produced for the United States Air Force (USAF).(Photo by Lockheed Martin)

When it comes to open systems architecture and digital engineering, there is no better example than the F-22 Raptor. Lockheed Martin is committed to providing higher readiness rates, faster response and lower life-cycle cost to U.S. Air Force customer. Through Follow-on Agile Sustainment, a comprehensive weapons management program and an award-winning performance-based logistics (PBL) contract, Lockheed Martin provide a highly integrated F-22 support system. The key to F-22 sustainment is integration. Our strategic partnership with the U.S. Air Force helps to merge highly complex sustainment activities into one unified operation. This integration allows for greater efficiency, lower cost, and enhanced responsiveness to the needs of the operators and maintainers in the field.

The Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base houses the only current F-22 Modernization Line, integrating the latest system capabilities to enhance the Raptor’s asymmetric advantage over adversaries. In the Reliability, Availability and Maintainability Program (RAMP), the company team inspects data from the field of operations and engineering solutions to increase aircraft availability for combat. About 50% of maintenance performed on the F-22 is related to repairing the low observable stealth coatings that are damaged when the aircraft is opened up for routine maintenance. The Pratt & Whitney F119 engines are designed to allow standard flight line maintenance using just six common tools available at commercial hardware stores IMIS enables maintainers to plug their laptop into the jet, log completed maintenance, and plug their computer back into the system to update a global database instantaneously.

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