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Lockheed Lands the Raptor
By Rex Moore
Spirits at Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - news) are flying high after the Pentagon approved initial production of the Air Force F-22 fighter jet. The "Raptor" is a stealth aircraft designed to avoid radar detection, and can cruise faster than the speed of sound.
The first step of the Pentagon's "low-rate initial production" calls for Lockheed to build 10 of the aircraft this year and 13 more in 2002. In all, 331 aircraft were to be built over the next 11 years. Because of cost overruns, however, that number has been scaled back to 295 at a budget of $45 billion.
Lockheed President Dain Hancock believes his company is up to the challenge of producing the aircraft within the required budget. "We are gratified and honored that the government has shown its confidence in Lockheed Martin's ability to successfully manage and integrate the large, diverse industry team that will produce the F-22," he said. "The F-22 Team is fully committed to meeting the program's stringent cost and performance goals."