Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin executive VP and general manager of the F-22A program, today extolled progress on the Raptor. He was effusive over the program’s 2005 accomplishments—noting USAF’s declaration of IOC and that program officials had been able to capitalize on lessons learned from an exhaustive testing process. One such lesson helped improve the Raptor’s mean time between maintenance by 60 percent since IOT&E test results in early 2005.
The U.S. military conducted strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz on May 7, as the conflict with Iran flared up again—though officials say the ceasefire remains in effect.