After 6 Years This F-22 Is Ready To Fly Again

Lt. Col. Lee Bryant addresses base leadership along with Lockheed Martin and Boeing representatives, to welcome back to life Raptor # 91-4006, which has been on the ground for almost six years. (Courtesy photo by Christopher Higgins/Lockheed Martin)

Defense Tech: F-22 Deemed Too Expensive to Fix for 6 Years Finally Ready to Fly

One of the U.S. Air Force's oldest F-22 Raptors is back out of the hangar and ready to fly again after six years idle in a hangar, according to the service.

The fifth-generation stealth jet, tail number 91-4006, had been shelved in 2012 for "needed costly upgrades," and with sequestration just around the corner, Air Force officials made the decision "to put it into storage," the service said in a recent release.

One of the most advanced jet fighters the U.S.operates, alongside the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the newly repaired Raptor, part of the 411th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, California, was re-unveiled during a ceremony this week in front of base leadership and Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. officials, the release said.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: These aircraft are too expensive to keep in storage, but upgrading it to fly must have been incredibly expensive.