I worked as an engineer on F-22 for 3+ years in the Quality Assurance department. I started on tail number 08 and went up until the tail numbers in the 50's (so now if any of your kids become fighter pilots you'll know to tell them which planes to avoid). I noticed in the video in the article that this last craft was tail number AK 193 meaning it is plane #193 (first 10 were for flight testing, there were two before that were ground structural test articles) and is going to a National Guard wing in Alaska. Most advanced fighter in the world is going to be flown by part time military 5000 miles away from any current conflict. At least it will be a deterrent to the North Koreans and Chinese.
As an aerospace engineer I have been fortunate enough to see some of the stuff I have worked on get produced, which is actually kind of rare these days, but unless I get to work on the Mars lander I don't think anything will top this.
MARIETTA, Ga. – The final F-22 Raptor fighter jet rolled off the assembly line during a ceremony at the Lockheed Martin aircraft plant at Dobbins Air Reserve Base. The product line is being replaced by the less costly F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as concerns arose in Washington that the $153 million F-22 was too costly and too high-tech for its own good.
Although foreign governments have expressed interest in purchasing the F-22, Congress banned its sale overseas out of concerns that the technology it carries is too sensitive to share. While the aircraft's supporters said such technology made the F-22 a formidable deterrent against emerging foreign powers, critics charged it was no longer needed in a post-Cold War environment -- pointing out that no F-22 has seen combat in Iraq or Afghanistan.
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The last F-22 Raptor rolls off the assembly line at its Georgia plant.
The F-22's official price tag of $153 million does not include research and development costs or retrofits and upgrades that were required to resolve a series of mechanical and software issues.
Although estimates are disputed, some critics say factoring in these additional expenses more than doubles the official cost of the plane.
Still, some members of Congress were reluctant to scrap the F-22 program because of the jobs it created.
F-22 production supports 2,000 jobs at Lockheed Martin's assembly plant in suburban Atlanta. However, company officials expect the discontinuation of the F-22 product line to have a neutral impact on jobs because of other projects underway at the facility.
Lockheed Martin's Marietta plant also produces C-130J military cargo planes, as well as installing wings on P-3 Orion aircraft and retrofitting huge C-5 transports.
Approximately 300 employees at the Georgia facility are building the center wing assembly for the F-35. And company officials say that number could increase to 1,000 as F-35 production ramps up.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/13/last-f-22-raptor-rolls-off-assembly-line/#ixzz1gSPyOqEh
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