Boeing

Boeing has delivered the aft fuselage for the fourth F-22 flight-test aircraft to team partner Lockheed Martin. The 5,000-pound structure now will be mated with the mid- and forward-fuselage sections at Lockheed Martin's Marietta, Ga., facility. The aft fuselage was flown aboard a C-17 Globemaster III military transport.

The delivery is significant in that the fourth F-22 aircraft will be the first to fly with its advanced avionics installed. Aircraft 4004 is scheduled to make its first flight in 2000. Boeing is responsible for integrating the aircraft's avionics.

The F-22 aft fuselage houses two Pratt & Whitney F119 engines. It also contains all or part of the aircraft's environmental control system and fuel, electrical, hydraulic and engine subsystems.

Boeing supplies the F-22's aft fuselage, wings, radar, 70 percent of the mission software, avionics integration and testing, training and life support systems.

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