Final Raptor rolls off Lockheed assembly line - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Final Raptor rolls off Lockheed assembly line

MARIETTA, Ga. — The final F-22 Raptor fighter jet rolled off the assembly line at a Lockheed Martin Corp. plant here on Tuesday.

The jet is the last of 187 F-22s produced for the Air Force, completing its operational fleet. The F-22 Raptor is designed to carry a variety of weapons, including smart bombs and air-to-air missiles.

The final Raptor will be delivered to the Air Force next year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

About 2,000 workers have assembled the jets at the Marietta plant.

F-22s are now based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

The F-22’s maiden flight took place Sept. 7, 1997, a Sunday morning, over Marietta with test pilot Paul Metz at the controls.

Lockheed originally expected to eventually build more than 1,400 Raptors, but the Navy pulled out of the project not long after the contract was awarded.

Critics have complained of the plane’s cost, about $140 million per plane, and many have argued there is no clear mission for the Raptor now that the Cold War is over.

The Raptor did not have a role in the fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. It has been deployed to Japan and Guam to enhance security in the Pacific.