Politics & Government
Post-Production F-22 Still Under Fire
Although the last Raptor rolled out of Lockheed Martin's Marietta facility last week, it faces criticism over cost, safety and lack of combat time.
New details from a fatal 2010 crash are raising additional concerns about the Marietta-built F-22 Raptor fighter jet, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The crash was another grim episode for Lockheed Martin's F-22, the nation's most expensive fighter jet, which has been in Air Force service since 2005 but has never been used in combat.
The plane was grounded for part of 2011 and has continued to experience equipment problems, most notably with its oxygen systems, said the Los Angeles Times, which has taken shots at the Raptor before.
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Aviation writers scoffed at the Air Force's official report on the crash, attached to this article, which blames the suffocating pilot for failing to properly switch to a backup oxygen system, said the Star-Telegram of Fort Worth, TX, the headquarters of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War, also attacked the F-22 and Lockheed Martin.
Find out what's happening in Mariettawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Raptor “may very well become the most expensive, corroding, hangar queen ever in the history of modern aviation,” McCain said in a speech prepared for the Senate floor, Bloomberg News reported.
The , tail number 4195, rolled off the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics assembly line at a week ago.
The fighter jet was the last of 187 F-22s. The Marietta assembly line had worked on F-22s since 1995 but now has shifted to the F-35, the C-130J and other aircraft.
