Now that F-22 production has ended, Lockheed Martin is shifting F-22 sustainment and engineering work from its plant in Marietta, Ga., to its facility in Fort Worth, Tex., where it is consolidating its fighter business, reported the Marietta Daily Journal. “Operating from a centralized location will improve our overall affordability, streamline operations, foster an environment of greater collaboration, and ultimately enhance the level of support we provide our customers,” stated Jeff Babione, the company’s F-22 and F-16 Integrated Fighter Group vice president, in the newspaper’s Dec. 5 report. The company has offered some 560 salaried employees—mostly engineers—the chance to move to Fort Worth along with the F-22 work, according to the newspaper. Approximately 40 unionized employees who currently refurbish Raptor canopies and apply low-observable tail surface coatings will remain in Marietta, states the newspaper. Lockheed Martin expects to save $250 million over five years through this relocation.
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…