Aerial as US Air Force (USAF) Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Dave Rose, 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada (NV), pilots the Air Force's new F/A-22 Raptor for a fly-by at the First Flight Centennial Celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina (NC)
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The original finding aid described this photograph as:
Country: United States Of America (USA)
Scene Major Command Shown: acc
Scene Camera Operator: TSGT Ben Bloker, USAF
Release Status: Released to Public
Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but also with ground attack, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence capabilities. The prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, built most of the F-22's airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems. USAF officials consider the F-22 a critical component of the service's tactical air power. Its combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance, and situational awareness enable unprecedented air combat capabilities and originally planned to buy a total of 750 aircrafts, but in 2009, the program was cut to 187 operational production aircraft due to high costs, a lack of clear air-to-air missions due to delays in Russian and Chinese fighter programs, a ban on exports, and development of the more versatile F-35. The last F-22 was delivered in 2012.
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