Utah Company Develops New Stealth Fighter Jet

Utah Company Develops New Stealth Fighter Jet


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Kimberly Houck reportingThe F-A-22 Raptor jet fighter will save American lives in future wars.

The $124 million jet is the wave of the future when it comes to fighting wars quickly and safely.

Greg Caires/ Lockheed Martin: "THE RAPTOR IS GOING TO SHORTEN FUTURE WARS AND SAVE AMERICAN LIVES, BECAUSE IT CAN GO OUT IN THE WORLD WITH NEAR IMPUNITY AND DESTROY ANY AIRBOURNE OR SURFACE-TO-AIR THREATS. IT'S KIND OF LIKE A BIG SNOWPLOW. IT GOES IN THERE AND IT MOVES THE BAD GUYS OUT OF THE WAY."

This airplane has the ability to lock on and shoot missiles at enemy aircraft long before they are spotted, thanks to high tech stealth material that coats the outside of the plane.

The enemy aircraft has another 25 miles before they will spot the Raptor, enough time for an Air Force pilot to lock in on the target, fire a missile, and fly away safely.

This superior technology was developed by a Utah company.

William Allison/ Northrop Grumman: "THIS PARTICULAR TECHNOLOGY IS BASED ON LASERS AND THE PHYSICS OF LIGHT. THE MOST SOPHISTICATED COMPANIES IN THE WORLD WE HAVE RIGHT HERE IN THE U.S. THAT HAS THOSE TYPES OF TECHNOLOGIES."

Northrup Grumman is among nine other Salt Lake companies that have government contracts to build navigational systems for the raptor.

They say the contract will bring in more than $80 million in jobs to Salt Lake City over the next 10 years.

The F-A 22 Raptor is still undergoing testing while air force pilots train to fly it. The aircraft will be ready to go by 2005.

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