FIRST PRODUCTION F/A-22 DELIVERED LOCKHEED MARKS MAJOR MILESTONE IN FIGHTER PROGRAM.

Byline: Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Lockheed Martin said it has officially delivered the first production F/A-22 Raptor to the Air Force.

The formal acceptance documents for the aircraft were signed Oct. 23 at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company facility in Marietta, Ga.

``It is supremely gratifying to achieve acceptance of our first production aircraft,'' said Bob Rearden, Lockheed Martin vice president and F/A-22 program general manager.

The aircraft, the 10th Raptor built, is a ``production representative test vehicle'' and is the first aircraft to be purchased with production phase funds.

It will be flown to Edwards Air Force Base in the next few weeks for the F/A-22 program's ``dedicated initial operational test and evaluation'' phase, scheduled to begin next year.

At Edwards, the plane will be assigned to the Air Force Operational Test & Evaluation Center detachment, serving alongside four other Raptors to demonstrate the F/A-22's suitability for operational use.

Final assembly and initial flight-testing of the Raptor occurs at the Marietta factory, headquarters for the F/A-22 program's contractor team. The Raptor's low-observable wing and vertical tail edges, low-observable antennas and radomes are built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Palmdale.

The Raptor will replace the aging F-15 Eagle starting in 2005.

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Lockheed Martin officials have announced delivery of the first production F/A-22 Raptor to the Air Force. The aircraft, the 10th Raptor built, is a ``production representative test vehicle'' and is the first aircraft to be purchased with production phase funds.

Lockheed Martin