The Lockheed
Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an air dominance
fighter due to replace the F-15C Eagle's of the
United States Air Force.
In October 1986
the USAF launched the Advanced Tactical Fighter
program and invited Lockheed and Northrop to
build two prototypes each, by specification of
the USAF, to be evaluated and tested.
For the engines
General Electric (YF120) and Pratt & Whitney
(YF119) were the choice of the USAF to build
test models for the new ATF.
Lockheed got
together with General Dynamics and Boeing and
their YF-22 flew for the first time on September
29, 1990. Northrop/McDonnell Douglas's YF-23
made it's first flight on August 27 that same
year.
The USAF selected
Pratt &Whitney to develop their YF119 in April
1991.
The first F-22A
(first of eleven) development aircraft took off
on September 7th 1997, and the second on June
28th 1998. The first production Raptor will be
delivered to the USAF around early 2003, after
that the first operational unit will be active
in 2005. A production of 295 Raptors has been
authorized so far.
