One of the oldest F-22s is back to the sky after about 6 years of grounding.
Oldest F-22 Raptor takes to sky again. |
On August 27, 2018, the Hangar 1635 at the Edwards Air Base hosted a ceremony to celebrate the rebirth of one of the original F-22 Raptors ever built. It's the Raptor #91-4006, which has been on the ground for almost six years.
The fifth-generation fighter was one of the first F-22 Raptors to have avionics installed for testing and has been at the 411th FLTS since it arrived in May 2001.
However, in November 2012, Raptor 4006 needed costly upgrades and the decision was made to put it into storage, possibly never to fly again due to the budget sequestration at the time, according to Lt. Col. Lee Bryant, 411th FLTS commander and F-22 CTF director.
Source, Image: USAF