USAF F-22 fleet is operational again

Sep 21

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The Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz have recently approved an implementation plan developed by Air Combat Command officials that will allow the F-22 Raptor to resume flight operations after a four-month stand down.

“We now have enough insight from recent studies and investigations that a return to flight is prudent and appropriate,” Schwartz said. “We’re managing the risks with our aircrews, and we’re continuing to study the F-22′s oxygen systems and collect data to improve its performance.”

In a task force approach to implementation, Air Combat Command officials developed a comprehensive incremental return-to-fly plan that balances safety and the expedient qualification of pilots against the inherent risks of flying advanced combat aircraft, officials said.

The entire fleet will undergo an extensive inspection of the life support systems before returning to flight, with follow-on daily inspections, officials said. The aircraft is capable and authorized to fly above 50,000 feet.

Pilots will use additional protective equipment and undergo baseline physiological tests. The return-to-fly process will begin with instructor pilots and flight leads regaining their necessary proficiency, then follow with other F-22 wingmen.

The commander of Air Combat Command directed a stand-down of the F-22 fleet May 3 as a safety precaution, following 12 separate reported incidents where pilots experienced hypoxia-like symptoms. The incidents occurred over a three-year period beginning in April 2008. Officials remain focused on the priorities of aircrew safety and combat readiness. The return-to-fly plan implements several risk mitigation actions, to include rigorous inspections, training on life support systems, and continued data collection.

Source: U.S. Air Force

Lockheed starts post-F-22 transition

Nov 09

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Lockheed Martin has entered the final 12 months of a key transition phase at its massive final assembly plant for the F-22 in Marietta, Georgia.

By November 2011, Lockheed is scheduled to roll the last of 187 F-22s and the first inner-wing shipset of the F-35 out of the historic B-1 building. But contrary to warnings about job losses prior to the F-22′s termination, activity inside the Marietta factory has never been busier. In addition to gaining a major share of the F-35 supply chain, the site is in the process of trebling C-130J production to about 36 a year, while also ramping up outer-wing production.

Over the next 12 months, Lockheed’s goal in Marietta is to complete a seamless transition from F-22 final assembly site to F-35 structural supplier, with the vast majority of the F-22 workforce crossing over to F-35 production.

“On the production side, our focus right now is to finish strong [on F-22],” says Jeff Babione, F-22 deputy programme manager.

Past experience suggests efficiency drops as production lines near their final days of activity. But Lockheed intends to accelerate the pace of F-22 final assembly to smooth the transition schedule.

Lockheed workers are currently assembling the 169th of 187 F-22s that will be delivered to the US Air Force by February or March 2012. The last airframe will actually roll out of the B-1 factory in November 2011, allowing two to three months for check-out flights, fixing glitches and applying coatings and paint.

For the past year, Lockheed has been transferring workers from the F-22 line in Marietta to the F-35 line in Fort Worth for early training. By the time F-35 production ramps up in Marietta, there should be an experienced workforce.

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