Zephyr Net

Lockheed Martin lands $2B order for F/A-22 fighter jets

Lockheed Martin landed a $2 billion Pentagon contract to build 22 more F/A-22 Raptor fighter jets for the Air Force, the Department of Defense said Thursday.

The contract "definitizes" terms of an agreement struck in May between Lockheed Martin (LMT) and the Defense Department to build the aircraft - referred to as Lot 4 - at a fixed price, with delivery slated for October, 2006.

Excluding test planes, the order brings to 45 the number of F/A-22s already built or under assembly for the military.

The F/A-22 program aims to replace the F-15 as the nation´s premier air-to-air fighter aircraft. Initially, the program called for 339 of the planes, produced at a rate of 36 a year by 2013.

But the program has been scaled back to about 220 aircraft amid budget concerns and growing sentiment in Washington that current global security risks no longer merit maintaining such costly fleets of fighter planes as they did during the Cold War era.

The first squadron of fully operational F/A-22s is scheduled to be in place by late 2005.

News of the contract landed after the closing bell on Wall Street, where Lockheed Martin shares closed Thursday down 65 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $51.43.

F-16 vs F-22 combat training mission with Greta Van Susteren


http://66.232.154.15/062904/greta_raptor_062804_300.wmv

That's only about what, $90M a plane!

Whatever happened to the $480M price tag they originally started at?

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Centurian

Where did you ever get a price tag of 480 million per?


BTW in the current budget a further 24 Blk 4 production versions are up for approval...

"$3.6 billion for 24 F/A-22 fighters, which are powered by East Hartford-based Pratt & Whitney engines."



Also included in the bill are:

$4.4 billion for continued development of the Joint Strike Fighter

$1.6 billion for another Virginia Class submarine

$50 million for B-2 bomber upgrades and the replacement of a military communications program at Edwards Air Force Base

$20 million for various weapons programs at China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, including a lightweight guided missile system and a program to develop and test rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

$5 million for a project involving liquid oxygen and hydrogen usage in new launch vehicles.

$5 million to update engineering tools at Antelope Valley´s Advanced Vehicle and Propulsion Center.

$5 million for a national training center communications system at Fort Irwin.

$4 million for a program in Santa Clarita to develop a new generation of combat vehicles.

$2 million for "smart" missile systems

$1 million for a water-cooled liquid rocket engine prototype

$1 million to consolidate flight tests for the F/A-22, F-16, F-15 and T-38 within the existing F/A 22 test compound at Edwards AFB.
Senate appropriators mirrored most of the funding levels that were in the House bill, but trimmed a bit from the F/A-22 program. The funding bill is still subject to the approval of the Senate and a House-Senate negotiating committee before it goes to the president´s desk to be signed into law.

Source: AP


CAG out...

More political BS

Here is my opinion .....
Speaking as someone involved in the F-22 program (I made 6% wind tunnel models of this bird, and was also involved in full scale mock-ups, and enjoyed direct input from the first test pilots that flew the initial prototypes as required). I live minutes away from langley Air force base slated to have one of the first operational wings of F-22s. And in the early 90's had 3 of the most predigous model makeing facilities envolved in "Black Work" located here, they are and where in some cases.
DEI (Dynamic Engineering Inc)
MicroCraft Co.
ATI (Advanced Technoligies Inc)
We worked directly with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, NASA, the Skunk Works, and anybody that needed high security prototypeing.
75% of what we did in the "vaults" was DOD classified work, most of which I still can't coment on.
That bird has some fundamental problems.
Now I'm not saying they will not be produced, or that they will not go operational, but I am willing to say they will never be produced in the no.s originally in visioned. This is not a budget issue. What it is, is an issue about what a human being can tolerate. Without a computer overriding the flight controls if a pilot maxed out the planes controls it would turn his brain to hamburger. The F-22 was a necessary step to develop a generation of un-manned fighter aircraft. And one ominous prediction I have made time and time again is this ....
The F-22 itself will kill more pilots that fly it than any enemy engagements ever will.
This plane pushes the envelope beyond what is humanly capable. And the debate still continues as to whether or not to make the plane capable to recover itself if and when a pilot blacks out from a radical maneuver, and what always follows is the question, if you make the plane able to do this why not go to the next logical step and remove the pilot completely?

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"cool beanz"
D. "FETCH" Jordan

Flankers have a button the pilot can push to recover from an unusual attitude, no reason the F-22 cant do the same when a GLOC occurs. It wont get that far anyway, F-16 has FCS limits, the F-22 will too (apparently the F-22 is fully capable of 12Gs). I remember reading about a pilot who was considered something of a god because he could sustain 9Gs for 45 seconds so I suspect most pilots fall rather short of that and sustaining 12Gs is basically worthless to most pilots. SHORT durations of more than 9Gs is workable with the newer G suits and forced breathing systems being developed.

_________________
Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

like I said .....
Hamburger.
You can't push a button if your blacked out.
And for a change none of you shade tree aeronautical experts jumped all over me.
I'm surprised, and pleased that someone else here has some of the data right.
I stand by what I said, as extreme as it may sound.
And before any of you guys start ragging on me for not being who and what I say I am here is a brief history about me and my life.

Born 1961

1979 - 1983 - apprenticeship for machinist at the NNSY (Newport News Shipyard) continued working there till late 85'

1985 -1991 - USMC, 6 on 2 off, 1st BAT 2nd Support MOS 210 repair machinist (one of the guys that followed the tanks in the "Bat Trucks" figure it out for yourselves)

1992 - 1995 - Dynamic Engineering, Va, Model Maker

1995 - 1997 - MicroCraft Inc, Va, Model Tech

1997 - 1999 - Advanced Technology Inc, Va, Model Tech

1999 - 2000 - Oceaneering, Md, Tool & Die Maker

2001 - 2002 - Wingaurd Hydroblanking, Md, Tool & Die Maker

2002 - 2003 - Newport News Industrial, Va, (NNSY after Grumman bought it)

2003 - to present - E.T. Lawson HVAC Supervisor
(It's a tough time for manufacturing in the USA)

The things I post here are just my opinions, nothing more.
Based on what I personally have seen and been a part of.
I don't mean to come off to defensive, but inevitably the attacks will come and I just don't get around online like I used to, so here is my rebuttal to any personal attacks before they occur if I don't get back here till the weekend.

_________________


"cool beanz"
D. "FETCH" Jordan