F22 Raptor

[MKIRKALDY@aol.com]

Sorry, but it was named after the bird, as per the Lockheed Martin public
relations department.  Below is the press release:

Contact:        Ray Crockett, Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems
                      e-mail:  racrockett@mar.lmco.com
Phone:          (770) 494-3211

F-22 RAPTOR NEXT-GENERATION FIGHTER UNVEILED

        MARIETTA, GA (April 9, 1997) --The curtain was drawn aside
today--literally--on a new era in aerial combat.
        The first production F-22 air dominance fighter aircraft for the U.S. 
Air
Force was unveiled in ceremonies this afternoon in preparation for its first
flight next month.  The rollout ceremony was hosted by the F-22 contractor
team--Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Pratt & Whitney.
        Speakers at the ceremony included U.S. House of Representatives Speaker 
Newt
Gingrich (R-GA); Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall; U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell
(R-GA), U.S. Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA) and U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA); Air Force
Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman; President of the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers George Kourpias; and Lockheed
Martin Chairman Norman Augustine. 
        Gen. Richard Hawley, commander of the Air Force’s Air Combat 
Command--the
ultimate user of the F-22, announced the popular name for the next-generation
fighter--Raptor.  “This is the day we officially name a remarkable--in fact a
revolutionary--new multi-mission fighter,” said General Hawley in a
videotaped statement.
        The aircraft displayed at the rollout is the first of nine flyable 
F-22As to
be built under the current Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD)
contract.  The contract also calls for two additional airframes to be built
for ground-based static and fatigue testing.
        “Rollout is an opportunity for the men and women and the families who 
have
dedicated so much to F-22 to see the first fruits of the labors,” said Brig.
Gen. Mike Mushala, U.S. Air Force F-22 Program Office Director.  “The next
exciting step is the return to flight next month.”
        “The team has worked hard to bring Ship 1 to this point,” agreed Tom
Burbage, F-22 Team Program Office General Manager, “and it’s great to have
people see and appreciate the result of all that work.”
        The F-22 is widely regarded as the most advanced tactical fighter in the
world, combining a revolutionary leap in technology and capability with
reduced support requirements and maintenance costs.  It will replace the
aging F-15 as America’s front-line air dominance fighter, with deliveries
beginning in 2002.
        Its combination of stealth, integrated avionics, maneuverability, and
supercruise (supersonic flight without afterburner) will give the Raptor
“first-look, first-shot, first-kill” capability against any potential enemy
aircraft.  The F-22 is designed to provide not just air superiority but air
dominance, winning quickly and decisively with few U.S. casualties.
        The F-22’s inherent air-to-ground capabilities also give it true
multi-mission effectiveness, complementing the primary air-to-ground
capability for which the Joint Strike Fighter (JST) is being designed.


Mary 
mkirkaldy@aol.com