Boeing

Boeing has delivered the first avionics flight test package, called Block 1.1, to team partner Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Ga., ahead of schedule. Boeing is responsible for integrating the F-22 Raptor's advanced avionics. Prior to delivery of Block 1.1, Boeing completed more than 9,000 hours of testing in its avionics integration laboratory. In addition to testing in the laboratory, the integrated avionics also have been tested aboard the company's 757 Flying Test Bed. The test bed helps reduce avionics development costs and risks by enabling extensive evaluation and troubleshooting before full avionics are installed on the F-22.

Bruce Ammerman, Boeing F-22 Avionics Laboratories manager, said the avionics delivery is an important milestone and the result of an outstanding team effort.

"This avionics package includes 80 percent of the final F-22 hardware configuration and more than 900,000 lines of code," said Ammerman. "To put it in perspective, that's about half of all the software that will be delivered to the final F-22 during the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the program. It was a huge task, and we couldn't have accomplished it without the excellent work of our F-22 teammates and suppliers."

Block 1.1, which includes stores management, a vehicle management system, utilities and subsystems, radar, mission, an inertial reference system, pilot vehicle interface and cockpit display software, will be installed on aircraft 4004. Raptor 4004 will be the first F-22 to fly with integrated avionics.

A follow-on Block 1.2 version will be delivered in January 2000 and will support 4004 taxi and first flight testing.

After Block 1.2 delivery, the next critical avionics milestone is delivery of Block 3S avionics, which will provide additional functionality to aircraft 4004 and allow it to accomplish a significant amount of flight testing. Block 3S is scheduled to be delivered in June 2000.

Boeing is teamed with Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney to design and build the F-22 Raptor for the U.S. Air Force. Boeing supplies the F-22's wings, aft fuselage, radar, mission software, avionics integration and testing, as well as training and life-support systems.

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