ATLANTA (AP) -- Cobb County is awaiting a Pentagon announcement about the fate of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet, which is assembled by 2,000 workers at Lockheed Martin Corp. in Marietta.
The announcement should come Monday when Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to unveil a "fundamental shift" in U.S. military priorities at an afternoon news conference.
The Pentagon has contracted to buy 183 F-22 from Lockheed Martin. More than 140 have been built. Current orders would keep the Marietta assembly line open until late 2011.
Gates recently made clear that high-tech weapons better suited for Cold War battles are not top budgetary priorities while low-tech conflicts continue in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A Lockheed Martin spokesman for the F-22 program, Rob Fuller, says it's premature to speculate on what Gates will recommend.
