Boeing

Boeing has delivered an updated F-22 avionics software package, called Block 2, to its 757 Flying Test Bed ahead of schedule.

The Block 2 delivery is one of the U.S. Department of Defense program criteria the F-22 contractor team was required to meet before a Lot 1 production contract can be awarded.

Block 2 software, which incorporates new, sophisticated radar modes and functions, underwent approximately 2,000 hours of testing in the company's Avionics Integration Lab prior to delivery.

Bob Barnes, Boeing vice president and F-22 program manager, said the 2,000 hours of testing in the lab follows on the heels of more than 9,000 hours of testing completed on the previous block, which recently was delivered to team partner Lockheed Martin for installation on the fourth F-22 flight-test aircraft.

"Our teams are doing a great job to ensure all the bugs are worked out before the integrated avionics ever reach the F-22," Barnes said.

Block 2, which includes radar, mission, Inertial Reference System, Pilot Vehicle Interface and cockpit display software, now will be tested aboard the modified 757 jet. The test bed is helping reduce avionics development costs, risks and future F-22 flight test hours by enabling extensive in-flight testing, evaluation and troubleshooting before full avionics are installed on the Raptor.

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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