Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin a five-year contract worth $7 billion for maintenance of the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.
This additional five-year contract will extend the service’s contract work with Lockheed Martin through 31 December 2032. Work will be performed at a variety of operational bases, wherever the F-22 is deployed, according to the Pentagon.
Lockheed Martin produced 195 examples of the F-22, with the last stealth fighter rolling off its production line in 2012. The USAF plans to operate the aircraft until at least 2045.
“About 50% of the maintenance performed on the F-22 is related to repairing the low observable stealth coatings that are damaged when the aircraft is opened up for routine maintenance,” says Lockheed Martin on its website.
Separately, Lockheed Martin is upgrading the F-22 via the 3.2B software modernisation package. That program upgrade includes the integration of two new air intercept missiles, the AIM-9X and AIM-120D.
