Final Raptor rolls off production line.

[fallmonk]

As reported by keyaero.com,

So have we hit the pinical ? I don't mean technology wise as that never stands still, but have we hit the financial barrier?
Will it be just upgrades of currant aircraft for a long while ?


............ ..................

ROLLING OFF the Lockheed Martin production line in Marietta, Georgia, on December 13 was the last F-22A Raptor to be built for the US Air Force, serial number 10-4195. Although still unpainted, the aircraft already carried the 'AK' tail code of its future unit, the 525th Fighter Squadron of the 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
After completion of company and government test flights, the aircraft will be painted and delivered to the 525th FS in May 2012, becoming the unit's new 'flagship.' The new aircraft is the 187th production Raptor, following on from eight development airframes, making a production total of 195 aircraft.

[Heathrow Harry]

back in 1984 N R Augustine, US Under Secretary of the Army 1975-1977 published his Laws:-

Law 16 - shows that defence budgets grow linearly but the cost (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_cost)of a new military aircraft grows exponentially (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exponential_growth):In the year 2054, the entire US defence budget will purchase just one aircraft. This aircraft will have to be shared by the Air Force and Navy 3½ days each per week except for leap year, when it will be made available to the Marines for the extra day.

Regretfully he has proven to be correctImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/824/slawsvg.png/)

[FATTER GATOR]

FELLOW PPRUNERS. PLEASE DON'T CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE. I DID AND MY ANTI-VIRUS WENT INTO OVERDRIVE.

Heathrow Harry, sorry old chum but your link seems to have been taken over by scoundrels!

[Tourist]

It just wants to do a pop-up. Mine was fine.

[alemaobaiano]

OK, bait taken :}

I clicked and saw a nice little graph with rising costs of fighter procurement and my anti-virus happily stayed silent the whole time.

TTFN

[fantom]

Try this:

Last F-22 Raptor Rolls Off Assembly Line | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/13/last-f-22-raptor-rolls-off-assembly-line/?test=latestnews)

[Geehovah]

It makes you wonder whether a programme as expensive as Raptor could ever again be funded? Certainly not in Europe under the current constraints.

[Lonewolf_50]

In China, in about ten years, yes. :cool:

[Bevo]

Well as any F-35 supporter will tell you the unit cost of a new aircraft is directly related to the number of aircraft purchased because of long lead pricing and the efficient production rate. The original F-22 program was for 750 aircraft. By 2006 that number had dropped to 381, and the final number is 187. It is interesting that the 2009 unit cost was $150 million. ( (http://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100128-072.pdf)REF (http://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100128-072.pdf)) (http://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100128-072.pdf) You might want to compare that with the F-35 price.

[glad rag]

An incredibly short sighted decision.

[Mechta]

So will the Americans do as our successive governments have done in the past, and insist the production tooling is destroyed?

With an eye on what the Chinese and Russians are building, my guess is they won't.

[jindabyne]

Hopefully not - but the current Pres is a lefty-socialist :rolleyes:

[jamesdevice]

you could argue that the shutdown should have been years ago
Whats the point in an aircraft which is so technologically advanced that the operators are scared to deploy it operationally?
Expensive white elephant

[Mechta]

Whats the point in an aircraft which is so technologically advanced that the operators are scared to deploy it operationally?
Expensive white elephant

Until the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, North Koreans et al have something similar and in greater numbers.

As far as I'm aware the F-22 is about air superiority, and unless the Taliban Air Force has a 100% stealth policy, the ISAF has always had air superiority anyway. I would have thought the F-22s in Alaska are deployed operationally in the same way that UK Typhoons on our East coast are.

The Hurricane and Spitfire were white elephants until 3 Sept 1939.

[OFBSLF]

So will the Americans do as our successive governments have done in the past, and insist the production tooling is destroyed?
No, it is being packed up and sent off to storage at an army depot: Last Raptor Rolls Off the Line (http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a5f1682d2-9610-4f89-bd86-e3190c321d58&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest)