Posted on 12/13/2011 4:00:17 PM PST by ColdOne
MARIETTA, Ga. The final F-22 Raptor fighter jet rolled off the assembly line during a ceremony at the Lockheed Martin aircraft plant at Dobbins Air Reserve Base. The product line is being replaced by the less costly F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as concerns arose in Washington that the $153 million F-22 was too costly and too high-tech for its own good.
Although foreign governments have expressed interest in purchasing the F-22, Congress banned its sale overseas out of concerns that the technology it carries is too sensitive to share.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Missing from the story - how many were originally planned, and how many were actually built.
I don’t care about the overseas sales.. but for the USA to stop producing them.. it is a BIG mistake :/
Although foreign governments have expressed interest in purchasing the F-22, Congress banned its sale overseas out of concerns that the technology it carries is too sensitive to share.”
But we’ll leave the drone in the hands of Iran...oh Doctahhhh.
Was 400 or something intially as I recall, then cut to 175...Does anyone know exactly ?
...from over 700 to around 60
I think the F-35 will suffer the same fate.
Wikipedia says 181 built.
Exactly why I cut of the article at that point! To see who would notice that
of=off
I wonder how much of that high tech is still secure now that Iran has a fully operational copy of our most sophisticated stealth drone.
Well at least they didn't get hold of our latest cockpit seating and cupholder technology!
Also left out of the story is what it would cost to buy an F-15C (if you could buy one) in “today’s dollars”. The currency has been so debased that the Eagle would probably be well over 100 million per copy.
So, throwing Billions at non-existant “Shovel Ready” jobs is a good use of taxpayer dollars, and cutting national defence contracts on state of the art aircraft, thus causing the layoffs of thousands of technicians, logistics and engineering jobs is something that is a smart thing to do.
I know that Zero is incapable of thinking beyond his next vacation or basketball game; but the skins on these types of aircraft are ‘special’. You don’t develop the skills to make this sort of material overnight, or in a vo-tech school. Those people who developed this ‘art’ are now out of a job, and will have to find a job doing something else. Re-starting production on something like this, isn’t just throwing a switch and saying “Ok, make more”.
Roughly 2 combat wings, plus some spares for training. That’s a little more than 60 units, but still way to few.
>>I think the F-35 will suffer the same fate.<<
The F-35 is the perfect example of a camel: a mouse built to government specifications.
It was a great idea completely ruined by scope creep and political gesturing.
It can’t even match up well against the new generation F-16 and F-18s it is supposed to replace (certainly not by price point) and never held a candle to the F-22.
The USA has a great desire to just NOT be the leader in military technology. The Chinese already have a version of the F-22 that at least matched it for the most part. By mothballing the F-22 we at the very least are in 2nd place (and 3rd if you believe the rumors about a Ruski version).
BTTT
Soon to be used in controlling public revolts in the U.S.
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