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Every F-22 In The Air Force Is Getting A New Coat Of Paint

Photo: U.S. Air Force /Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock

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Lockheed Martin will start re-coating the Air Force’s whole F-22 Raptor fleet with a special radar-absorbing material, the Department of Defense announced.

The aerospace company will receive a $40 million contract modification to strip and re-coat F-22 fighter jets in an effort to improve the fleet’s stealth capabilities.

Lockheed has designed a new facility to conduct the work under an August, 2016 contract to re-coat 12 jets. One plane has already gone through the coating process, and was delivered back to the Air Force ahead of schedule in February.

“The inlet coatings work, coupled with future improved Low Observable materials and repair improvements, is a critical part of increasing the 325th Fighter Wing’s repair capacity and combat readiness,” Lt. Col. Argie Moore, deputy commander of the 325th Maintenance Group, said in a statement in February.

The F-22 program has been criticized for the amount of maintenance the jets need and how expensive they are to operate. The Defense Department hopes the coating system at Lockheed’s new Inlet Coating Repair (ICR) Speedline facility will be more economically viable to sustain the fleet.

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