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government previously awarded $2.3 billion of the contract to
buy long lead- time parts and maintain continuous manufacturing
flow. The air force also awarded a $1.3 billion multiyear contract
to Pratt & Whitney to produce the Raptor's F119 engines.
Two F119 engines enable the F-22 to supercruise or achieve supersonic
speeds without the use of the afterburner.
"The multi-year contract allows us to generate savings
for the taxpayer and continue to deliver the most capable aircraft
in the world to the men and women defending our nation,"
said Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics executive vice
president and F-22 program general manager. A recent RAND Corporation
study, the multi-year contract is estimated to save approximately
$400 million over Lots 7, 8 and 9 (60 aircraft), compared to
a corresponding annual procurement program. This equates to
a savings of $6.85 million per aircraft.
The F-22 is produced in partnership with Boeing and Pratt &
Whitney with parts and subsystems provided by nearly 1,000 suppliers
in 44 U.S. states. F-22 production takes place at Lockheed Martin
Aeronautics facilities in Marietta, Ga.; Fort Worth, Tex.; Palmdale,
Calif.; and Meridian, Miss., as well as at Boeing's plant in
Seattle, Wash. Final assembly and initial flight testing of
the Raptor occur in Marietta. Currently, Raptors are being built
at a rate of approximately two per month. The multiyear procurement
will sustain a production rate of 20 per year, with deliveries
starting in late 2008. That plan will bring the total F-22 buy
to 183 aircraft, the most allowed under the 2006 Quadrennial
Defense Review findings. To date, 105 Raptors have completed
final assembly at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta,
Ga. So far, 99 Raptors have been delivered to the Air Force.
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