U.S. to mothball gear to build top F-22 fighter

Even as the last F-22 fighter jet rolls out of flag-draped doors at a Lockheed Martin Corp assembly plant on Tuesday, the Air Force has taken steps that leave open an option to restart the premier plane's production relatively cheaply. The Air Force is preserving the hardware used to build the jet, not scrapping it, although it insists this is solely to sustain the fleet over its projected 30-plus years' "lifecycle."

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