FlameOut
SOH-CM-2025
First of all, I'm just stirring the pot!
I mean no offense!
This post is mainly a tribute to my twin brother (deceased 1956-2019) who worked at Lockheed Martin, Marietta, Georgia.
The first air-to-air kill for the "Air Dominance" fighter F-22 Raptor was a balloon!
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/...-chinese-balloon-coast-south-carolina/382598/
I can see it now, (in the future) a question...."what was the mighty F-22 Raptor's first air-to-air kill back in 2023"... think Trivial Pursuit game
No one needs to read any further if you don't want to.
Now the real-life connection to all of this:
I can remember having conversations with my brother stating that. "... you mean we are going to defend all four corners of the continental U.S., and our other "interest", with the Ruskies & China coming over the poles with only 170-180 of those damn things .... it better have a kill ratio of 1000:1!
Well, now we can scratch 1!
My brother was stationed at Luke AFB in the mid to late 70's. He always wanted to be the boom operator on the KC's, but Uncle Sam said he was too color blind for that job "...so they made me a pop-rivet man..."[ Airframe Specialist] which got him sent out to Luke AFB, working on F-15's. and the connection to the above article.
Now comes the 1980's and my brother gets his first employment at Lockheed Martin, Marietta, Georgia working on the refit of the center wing box of the C-5B: 1985–1989.He leaves after that program ended and pursued jobs in aviation elsewhere.
The mid 1990's arrive and he returns to Lockheed Martin, Marietta, Georgia for the second and final time hoping to get into the F-22 production program which ran from 1996–2011. Nope, we are all full up on that one, but we can put you over on the P-3 Orion wing redesign (something to do with skate angles). Well, he did for a few years and as the F-22 program was winding down they moved him over to the C-130J production line.
This is a picture [from the internet], of his workstation.
He and all of the fellas at the "plant" said that the F-16 could out turn the ol' Raggedy Raptor any day of the week! Who knows?
It's the 2010's and they move him to the Marietta center wing assembly operation of the F-35.
Now comes the Aortic Valve surgery in 2019 .... 2 months ....
He would have been laughing his arse off ... a damn balloon!
I mean no offense!
This post is mainly a tribute to my twin brother (deceased 1956-2019) who worked at Lockheed Martin, Marietta, Georgia.
The first air-to-air kill for the "Air Dominance" fighter F-22 Raptor was a balloon!
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/...-chinese-balloon-coast-south-carolina/382598/
I can see it now, (in the future) a question...."what was the mighty F-22 Raptor's first air-to-air kill back in 2023"... think Trivial Pursuit game
No one needs to read any further if you don't want to.
Now the real-life connection to all of this:
I can remember having conversations with my brother stating that. "... you mean we are going to defend all four corners of the continental U.S., and our other "interest", with the Ruskies & China coming over the poles with only 170-180 of those damn things .... it better have a kill ratio of 1000:1!
Well, now we can scratch 1!
My brother was stationed at Luke AFB in the mid to late 70's. He always wanted to be the boom operator on the KC's, but Uncle Sam said he was too color blind for that job "...so they made me a pop-rivet man..."[ Airframe Specialist] which got him sent out to Luke AFB, working on F-15's. and the connection to the above article.
Now comes the 1980's and my brother gets his first employment at Lockheed Martin, Marietta, Georgia working on the refit of the center wing box of the C-5B: 1985–1989.He leaves after that program ended and pursued jobs in aviation elsewhere.
The mid 1990's arrive and he returns to Lockheed Martin, Marietta, Georgia for the second and final time hoping to get into the F-22 production program which ran from 1996–2011. Nope, we are all full up on that one, but we can put you over on the P-3 Orion wing redesign (something to do with skate angles). Well, he did for a few years and as the F-22 program was winding down they moved him over to the C-130J production line.
This is a picture [from the internet], of his workstation.
He and all of the fellas at the "plant" said that the F-16 could out turn the ol' Raggedy Raptor any day of the week! Who knows?
It's the 2010's and they move him to the Marietta center wing assembly operation of the F-35.
Now comes the Aortic Valve surgery in 2019 .... 2 months ....
He would have been laughing his arse off ... a damn balloon!
