Lt. Col. James Hecker (front) and Lt. Col. Evan Dertein line up their F/A-22 Raptor aircraft behind a KC-10 Extender to refuel while en route to Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Colonel Hecker commands the first operational Raptor squadron — the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va. The unit went to Hill for operation Combat Hammer, the squadron’s first deployment, Oct. 15. The deployment has a twofold goal: complete a deployment and to generate a combat-effective sortie rate away from home. [U.S. Air Force photo by TSgt Ben Bloker]
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It is primarily an air superiority fighter, but has multiple capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is the prime contractor and is responsible for the majority of the airframe, weapon systems and final assembly of the F-22. Program partner Boeing Integrated Defense Systems provides the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and all of the pilot and maintenance training systems.

U.S. Military Aircraft For Sale: Crafting an F-22 Export Policy [100 Pages]

Continue scrolling for more...

Follow The Black Vault on Social Media:

This post was published on February 23, 2015 3:32 am

John Greenewald

Recent Posts

New Documents Detail Slow, Multi-Agency Vetting of “Skinwalkers at the Pentagon”

Newly released Department of Defense records reveal the prolonged and often frustrating prepublication review process…

August 12, 2025

FAA Records Add ‘Black Cube’ Sighting to Wright-Patterson AFB Drone Mystery

Newly released Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documents obtained by The Black Vault under FOIA case…

August 11, 2025

FBI Files: Directors, Agents and Personnel of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Background The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National…

August 7, 2025

DOD Releases “Verbal Legal Advisement” Given to UFO Whistleblower David Grusch

The Department of Defense (DOD) has released, in full, the exact text of the “Verbal…

August 4, 2025

Declassified DoD Interviews Reveal Soviet Cold War Fears and Nuclear Realities

A released Department of Defense document, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, provides a…

August 4, 2025

FBI Files: Journalists and their Periodicals

Background Welcome to the FBI Files on Journalists and their Periodicals archive on The Black…

August 2, 2025