Fleet Consists Of 187 Operational And Eight Training Aircraft At Seven U.S. Bases
The 195th and last F-22 Raptor was delivered to U.S. Air Force leadership in a ceremony held Wednesday at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics site in Marietta, GA. With this delivery, the U.S. Air Force now possesses the world’s only 5th generation stealth fighter aircraft fleet in the world.
“There is no longer any nation that wishes us ill or any adversary who wishes us harm that has any doubt that their actions will have consequences – that they will be held to account and that our response will be undeterred,” said Robert J. Stevens, Lockheed Martin’s chairman and CEO. “The very existence of this airplane – your airplane – has altered the strategic landscape forever.”
A host of distinguished officials participated in this monumental event, including senior leaders from Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force; local, state and national elected officials; and Lockheed Martin employees who helped build the F-22 Raptor fleet.
This final Raptor joins a U.S. Air Force fleet of 187 operational F-22s and will join other F-22s in the Air Force’s 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. In all, Lockheed Martin delivered 195 F-22s to the Air Force beginning in 1997, with eight Raptors used as test aircraft.
F-22s are assigned to seven U.S. bases. Flight testing takes place at Edwards AFB, CA. Operational tactics development continues at Nellis AFB, NV. Pilot training takes place at Tyndall AFB, FL. Operational F-22 aircraft are assigned to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK; Holloman AFB, NM; and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI.
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