A test pilot was killed in a crash of an F-22A Raptor, the Air Force's top-of-the line fighter jet. The plane crashed Wednesday in a remote area of the Mojave Desert.
Dead was David Cooley, 49, a 21-year Air Force veteran who joined Lockheed Martin in 2003. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is the prime contractor for the F-22A Raptor. No furhter details on the accident were released.
The F-22A Raptor has been under much criticism. Each plane costs around $138 million. Meanwhile, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, also under development, is far cheaper at $80 million per plane, and said to be more versatile.
The U.S. is already committed to 183 F-22s. The original plan laid out in the 1980s was to build 750. Lockheed is trying to convince the Pentagon to buy as many as 20 more F-22s.
Lockheed also says 95,000 jobs at 1,000 companies are connected to the F-22. You can see where the hard sell is coming from in this recession.
This is the second time an F-22 has crashed. In December 2004, an F-22 crashed at Nellis Air Force Base during a test flight, but in that case with the pilot safely ejecting.
The F-22 became combat-ready for the Air Force at the end of 2007.
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#1 "Meanwhile, the F-35 Joint
"Meanwhile, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, also under development, is far cheaper at $80 million per plane, and said to be more versatile."
The F-35 is cheaper because it is a smaller, single engine aircraft. The F-35 will be the replacement of the F-16 and A-10, whereas the F-22 will be replacing the F-15A-D Model Aircraft.