[ Special Report ]

T h e J o u r n a l o f G l o b a l A i r s p a c e

Avionics Magazine
®

Air Dominance
With The F-22 Raptor
Inside:
 Lethal Mix: Stealth, Speed & Agility  What Sensor Fusion Delivers
 Raptor: The Pilot’s Perspective  Program Suppliers State-by-State
 F-22 Program Milestones  Importance of Air Dominance
[ With capabilities shared by no other combat
aircraft, the F-22 gives the U.S. Air Force a
first-look, first-shot, first-kill advantage. ]

T
he first U.S. stealth aircraft vide the pilot unparalleled situation-
able to defend itself al awareness and a clear advantage
against enemy fighters over adversaries (see story on page 6).
and to attack highly A potent force multiplier, this
defended targets in the advanced avionics package brings
daytime. The first U.S. aircraft to to the table changes as sweeping as
cruise at Mach 1.5 and faster without the transition from piston engine
afterburner. And the first U.S. fighter aircraft to jets. It expedites the
to use vectored thrust, which adds to pilot’s ability to make tactical deci-
its unmatched agility. These are sions. Pilots can track, identify and
among the unique capabilities of the shoot down an enemy before the
U. S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor air domi- enemy is aware of their existence.
nance fighter. But even more revolu- Destined to become the dominant
tionary is the F-22’s advanced inte- fighter aircraft of the 21st century
grated avionics suite, which fuses when it becomes operational with
data from multiple sensors to pro- the Air Force in 2005, the F-22 is being

Holding Four Aces

Speed, Stealth, Agility
and Revolutionary Avionics
Avionics Magazine 3
 Plenty of Power, Reduced Costs
Two of the F-22 Raptor’s three unique performance capabili-
ties—speed and agility—are made possible by the breakthrough
technology afforded by the aircraft’s twin 35,000-pound-thrust
Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engines, the most powerful fight-
er engines in production.
With the F119 engine (and the F135 derivative for the F-35
Joint Strike Fighter), stealth is also integrated with the engine.While
previous stealth technology has relied on “burying” the engine
through advanced geometry and coating, today’s F119 is mounted in
a conventional manner to provide maximum performance and ease
of maintenance. Pratt & Whitney has developed the engine for ease of mainte-
At the same time, use of advanced materials and design make nance by minimizing the number of tools needed to perform
the system difficult to detect by enemy radar. The end result, says repairs, reducing the number of parts by 40 percent, optimizing
team member Pratt & Whitney, is a more reliable engine and the location of line-replaceable items on the engine, and making
more hours in the air to support the mission. all critical engine features accessible to technicians. Pratt & Whit-
Raptor’s “supercruise” speed and long range also allow the ney expects these efforts to reduce operating cost by 50 percent
pilot to quickly enter and exit the mission site while evading from current technology, and increase time between maintenance
enemy fire. In addition, thrust vectoring—the ability to control the by 225 percent. When fielded, the engine systems will use
engine exhaust’s direction through use of a deflecting nozzle— advanced diagnostics that can immediately discover operational
provides unprecedented maneuverability. It minimizes drag problems and identify them by specific part number. The F-22
through reduced use of aerodynamic flight controls and is fully communicates this data via satellite back to the operating base, so
integrated into the aircraft’s flight control system. a fix will be available when the aircraft lands.

produced by a Lockheed Martin-led No other aircraft can do that, says craft’s physical size than with its
team that includes Boeing and key Mark Hodge, director of F-22 pro- design, materials and manufacturing.
avionics suppliers Northrop Grum- grams for Lockheed Martin’s Wash- Stealth technology, which Lock-
man, Raytheon, BAE Systems and ington office. Because current stealth heed Martin pioneered in the SR-71
TRW. Pratt & Whitney produces the F- aircraft cannot defend themselves strategic reconnaissance aircraft
22’s engines. To date, 10 F-22s have against enemy fighters, they must and F-117 Nighthawk, and which
been produced and another 31 air- attack targets at night or use a mix of Northrop Grumman advanced in the
craft are on order. The Bush adminis- fighter aircraft to provide air cover, as B-2 Spirit, is a key enabler of the
tration has requested another 23 air- well as to suppress enemy radar- “first-look, first-shot” capability.
craft in the fiscal year 2003 budget. In directed threats. Internally stored weapons (the first
all, the Air Force plans on a fleet of 339 However, the F-22 was designed to for a U.S. air-to-air fighter since the
Raptors to replace the venerable F-15 go and get other airplanes. “So when F-106) are essential in preserving the
Eagle and keep the skies clear for U.S. you add to that its capability to pene- Raptor’s stealth capabilities, in addi-
and allied forces in the years to come. trate hard-to-get targets and drop pre- tion to reducing aerodynamic drag.
The F-22’s two F119 engines allow cision weapons on them, you bring With the F-22’s stealth capability,
supersonic cruise at military power capabilities to the war fighters no air “we see the guy before he closes the
(maximum power without afterburn- force has today: a self-supporting, all- range to see us,” says Hodge. “This
er) settings. A large wing area and weather, all-day/night stealth fighter,” enables us to use our avionics to get
internal tanks for fuel storage give the Hodge, a former fighter pilot, says. a detection and an identification,
F-22 deep penetration range. Using its and to get the shot off before he sees
stealth capabilities to maximum Stealth us with any of his sensors.”
advantage, the Raptor can conduct a Of the F-22’s key capabilities, stealth Stealth is an equally important
first strike, defend itself against air- is the least discussed (for security rea- factor in the multimission F-22’s air-
borne or ground threats, and return to sons) and may be the least under- to-ground role. It allows a new set of
base to fight again. stood. It has less to do with the air- tactics against surface-to-air mis-

The F-22 is proving itself through a rigorous flight test program

Ready from the Get-Go conducted by the Combined Test Force at Edwards AFB, Calif.Test
No advanced weapon system, no matter how lethal, is effective if pilots on the F-22 contractor team have put the Raptor through
it doesn’t show up for business. Designed and built with reliabili- more than 2,000 flight test hours to date, more than 500 hours test-
ty and maintainability in mind, the F-22 Raptor offers the capa- ing the new avionics system. Aircraft, engines and avionics will be
bility to fly and fight from Day One. Billed as twice as reliable thoroughly tested before the F-22 enters operational service, and
and capable as its predecessors, the F-22 will allow the U.S. Air before that, during initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E),
Force to get to the fight faster, stay longer and fly more missions beginning in Q2/Q3 2003.That is when Air Force test pilots will fly
than any conventional fighter aircraft. the aircraft as if they were in an operational squadron.

4 Avionics Magazine
siles (SAMs) and an adversary’s inte-
grated air defense system (IADS),
which combines SAMs with
The Raptor’s Arsenal
advanced fighter aircraft. “To no sur- The F-22 Raptor can stow various combinations of weapons for engaging enemies in the
prise, the best combination against air and on the ground.
this threat is a stealthy fighter that
flies very fast. We can get in and out Air-to Air
of [the enemy’s] range of coverage The F-22 will carry six AIM-120 Advanced, Medium-Range, Air-to-Air Missiles
before he has a chance to engage us,” (AMRAAMs) in the main weapons bay and two AIM- 9 Sidewinders in the side bays. It
Hodge points out. The F-22 is slated also carries an internally mounted M61A2 Vulcan 20mm cannon with 480 rounds.
to be a prime element of the initial
strike force—referred to by Air Force Air-to-Ground
Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper as The Raptor will carry internally stored 1,000-pound GBU-32 joint direct attack muni-
the “kick down the door” force— tions (JDAMs) for precision all-weather attack, in place of four AMRAAMs. (A larger
against heavily defended areas. version of the GBU-32 has been credited with destroying caves in Afghanistan.)

Supercruise Other
The F-22’s ability to conduct deep The F-22 also has four external hardpoints for weapons/fuel carriage when stealth is not
penetration missions against heavily critical.
defended air or ground targets is
greatly enhanced by its ability to
“supercruise”—to fly at supersonic
speeds without the use of its after-
burners. (The term “supercruise” was
invented by the Air Force to define a
capability that did not exist in a pro-
duction aircraft prior to the F-22.)
This breakthrough results from the
Raptor’s efficient aerodynamic
design, combined with its two power-
ful Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100
engines. Pratt & Whitney won the F-22
engine competition when the Lock- power, it has “twice the range of our larly at low speeds and at high angles
heed Martin-led team won the air- best current air-to-air fighter.” of attack, he adds. Maneuverability in
frame competition in the program’s a modern fighter is measured by how
demonstration-validation (dem-val) Agility slow it can fly, and by how much
phase. And since 1998, the P&W- Despite the obvious breakthroughs angle of attack it can sustain and still
equipped F-22 has been demonstrat- afforded by its stealth and super- turn. “If you define the most maneu-
ing that it can fly at military power at cruise capabilities, the Air Force verable fighter as capable of a 26-
speeds in excess of Mach 1.5 without chose not to have a fast, high-flying degree angle of attack, we are better
afterburner. fighter that couldn’t maneuver. “We than twice that,” says Hodge, adding
T h i s c a p ab i l i t y d e l ive r s t wo learned in Vietnam that all you have that the F-22 has demonstrated 60
advantages. It enhances the fighter’s to do is get a small maneuvering degrees angle of attack. “Nobody can
stealth characteristics by eliminat- fighter inside the ‘fast flyer’s’ turn outmaneuver it; nobody can out-
ing the infrared signature that is circle, and it will eat him up,” says range it,” he adds.
emitted by an afterburner. And it Hodge. Lockheed Martin already had A pilot who has flown the Raptor
greatly extends the F-22’s range by established a reputation of building in tests, confirms its capabilities.
allowing supersonic cruise flight fast, highly maneuverable fighters— “The F-22 has demonstrated agility
without the need to use the fuel- the F-16 Fighting Falcon is arguably and maneuverability to absolutely
guzzling afterburners. the most maneuverable of modern dominate the close-in air battle,”
Afterburners still will play an day fighters—and the company says Chuck Killberg, test pilot for
important role in the F-22’s mission wanted to continue the tradition. F-22 team member Boeing. He adds,
by providing added thrust and speed To enhance the maneuverability however, that “the goal is to be miles
during an intercept or in a dogfight, of the F-22, a large fighter with near- away [for the kill], so we’re depend-
but they will not have to be used for ly the same dimensions as the F-15, ing on the avionics.”
extended periods in cruise. “We the Raptor team turned to thrust Hodge agrees. “The real strength
wanted the benefits of speed with- vectoring. “Basically, we take the in all the F-22’s capabilities is the
out the penalty of the afterburner, so exhaust from the aircraft and vector avionics suite that encompasses
we invented supercruise—and it it up or down, plus or minus 20 sensor fusion and multisensor inte-
works,” Hodge says. The Raptor’s degrees,” Hodge explains. gration.” Still, Raptor pilots will wel-
range is classified, but insiders say Thrust vectoring “makes for phe- come the added advantag es of
that in conventional or military nomenal maneuverability,” particu- stealth, speed and agility. 

Avionics Magazine 5
A Complete Picture
of Who’s Out There
[ A blue-ribbon team of suppliers has developed the F-22’s
electronics suite, including integrated processing to produce
a comprehensive, blended view of the mission environment. ]

6 Avionics Magazine
T
hree sensor platforms—
radar; electronic warfare more than 90 percent of the total man director of F-22 radar pro-
(EW); and communica- functionality planned for the F-22. It grams. The radar’s electronic scan-
tions, navigation and iden- offers increased radar, EW and CNI ning capability allows the beam to
tification (CNI)—combine capabilities, plus the addition of GPS be moved much more rapidly than
to form part of the advanced inte- navigation. Eventually, all F-22s will with previous systems, permitting
grated avionics suite that provides receive the avionics updates. enhanced radar searching and mul-
the F-22 Raptor pilot with unprece- “The release of Block 3.1 integrat- tiple tracking capabilities. And
dented capabilities. They do so ed software is a significant because of the active aperture
through the computing power of two enhancement to the warfighting array’s reliability, its LRU can be
Common Integrated Processors capabilities already demonstrated sealed in the nose of the aircraft
(CIPs) in each aircraft. by the Raptor,” says Bob Rearden, and left alone, he maintains.
A clear advantage over previous Lockheed Martin F-22 vice president The AN/APG-77 system has sig-
generation aircraft is the F-22’s abil- and general manager. Prior to deliv- nificant growth capability that could
ity to gather information from mul- ery, subsystem hardware and soft- support such advancements as syn-
tiple sensors, both onboard and off- ware had been rigorously tested at thetic aperture radar, automatic tar-
board the aircraft, and fuse it to pre- Boeing’s Avionics Integration Lab get cueing and ground moving target
sent a comprehensive view of the (AIL) in Seattle. And since 1999, air- indication. The upgraded radar
mission environment. “In the F-22, borne testing has been conducted would enhance the F-22’s air-to-
we supply the pilot with a single on the Boeing 757 Flying Test Bed ground capabilities by adding pro-
view of the world,” says Ron Shue, (FTB) aircraft. Use of the FTB reduces cessing capacity, allowing the F-22 to
Lockheed Martin’s avionics inte- avionics system risk and limits t a rg e t a n d d e l i v e r G P S - g u i d e d
grated product team (IPT) leader. development costs. It enables exten- weapons even more accurately.
The CIP makes “the correlation, sive evaluation and troubleshooting Northrop Grumman, leading the
enabling the pilot to command the before full avionics systems are radar system design, provides the
actions,” he adds. installed on the F-22. To date, more software, active aperture antenna,
The avionics suite comprises than 98 percent of system anom- RF receiver, radar support electron-
hardware and software produced by alies have been found prior to deliv- ics and system integration. Its part-
the F-22 team members: Lockheed ery to the Raptor. ner, Raytheon, has responsibility for
Martin, Boeing Military Aircraft & the transmit and receive module
Missile Systems, Northrop Grumman AESA Radar design, the array power supply and
Electronic Systems, Raytheon, BAE The joint venture team of Northrop driver, and the power conditioner.
Systems and TRW. Lockheed Martin is Grumman and Raytheon provides Northrop Grumman’s work is per-
primarily responsible for the develop- the AN/APG-77 multimode active formed at its Electronics Division,
ment and initial testing of the air- electronically scanned array (AESA) near Baltimore, where it has 10,000
craft’s integrated avionics suite at radar. This system can rapidly track employees, and at other locations.
both its Marietta, Ga., and Fort Worth, multiple targets at long range, allow- Raytheon’s facilities, with 2,500
Texas, facilities. Team partner Boeing ing simultaneous use of search and employees, are in McKinney, Texas.
is responsible for final integration track modes. It also has advanced
testing and software delivery for the electronic counter-countermeasures Program Status
F-22’s advanced avionics. (ECCM) capability. The radar program is transitioning
The first flight of an F-22 The AESA line-replaceable unit to production, following the engi-
equipped with a combat-ready (LRU) includes thousands of transmit neering and manufacturing develop-
avionics suite took place in January and receive modules, which are ment (EMD) phase, which ran from
2001. This significant milestone was assembled onto “subarrays” that are 1991 to 2002. During that period
required for U.S. Department of inserted into the antenna. The anten- Northrop Grumman and Raytheon
Defense (DoD) approval to start the na then sends the radio frequency built 11 radar systems, which have
aircraft’s low-rate initial production. (RF) signals to a receiver, and they are undergone more than 12,000 hours
The avionics suite incorporated processed in the radar support elec- of testing in a laboratory, on the FTB
Block 3.0 software components to tronics LRU. The AN/APG-77 radar aircraft and on F-22s at Edwards AFB.
support radar processing, sensor interfaces with the F-22’s CIP, the In addition, the radar team is pro-
fusion, EW and countermeasures, computing heart of the F-22’s mission ducing eight systems for the pro-
CNI, and a pilot-vehicle interface. Last system, where the sensor informa- gram’s production-readiness test
February, the industry team delivered tion is fused with other information vehicle (PRTV) stage. They are being
the latest integrated software pack- and displayed to the pilot. installed on F-22s at Lockheed Mar-
age, Block 3.1, to the Combined Test “The key element in the radar tin’s facility in Marietta. First deliver-
Force at Edwards AFB, Calif., for flight system is the active aperture anten- ies of radar systems for 10 Lot 1 pro-
testing. The new software package na, which enables the outstanding duction aircraft are scheduled to
was successfully flown for the first radar system performance being begin in the second quarter of 2002.
time on April 25 in Raptor 4006. reported by F-22 test pilots,” says Northrop Grumman and Raytheon
The Block 3.1 package supplies Jerry Dunnigan, Northrop Grum- also are under contract for the sec-
ond production lot of 13 aircraft.
Deliveries are to begin in 2003, and
Avionics Magazine 7
 take place in TRW’s SAIL before delivery
Test, Test and Test Again to Lockheed Martin’s TASIL, in Fort
Development, integration and testing of Bed (FTB) aircraft has accumulated Worth. There the CNI system, including
the F-22 Raptor’s avionics system have more than 1,000 flight hours, testing the its antennas, was tested on a full-size air-
played a key role in the fighter aircraft subsystems and integrated system in an craft model. From Fort Worth, the CNI
program’s success. The advanced inte- airborne environment, and more test system went to the AIL, where all of the
grated systems flying on F-22 test air- hours lie ahead. It was used in early 2002 vehicle system’s hardware and software
craft today are displaying impressive per- to test the CNI system at Lockheed Mar- came together. Then it was off to the FTB
formance, meeting or exceeding require- tin’s Fort Worth facility. for testing in an aircraft environment, and
ments, says Ron Shue, Lockheed Martin’s More than 19,000 test and integra- finally to the F-22 aircraft.
avionics integrated product team (IPT) tion hours have been recorded in the AIL. The electronic warfare (EW) system
leader. And the missile launches have That includes testing the F-22’s latest followed a similar path although the tech-
been successful. software, Block 3.1.1 (subversion of nique differed since enemy threats are
The F-22 team’s projected flight test Block 3.1), in the spring of 2002. simulated best in a laboratory. The first
schedule reflects the integration and test- The avionics labs and Flying Test Bed radio frequency (RF) system hardware and
ing program’s effectiveness. It calls for ensure that hardware and software compo- prototype software (for Block 2) EW test-
1,700 hours of avionics flight testing, com- nents and subsystems match design. They ing were delivered to Boeing’s AIL in Feb-
pared to the 4,000 to 6,000 hours histori- also help reduce avionics risks and limit ruary 1999.The countermeasures and mis-
cally required for a new fighter aircraft. development costs by enabling extensive sile launch detectors were sent the follow-
The avionics laboratories, located evaluation and troubleshooting before the ing month. From there the full EW system
throughout the United States and operat- full avionics system is installed on the F-22. went to the FTB for evaluation in the “real
ed by Lockheed Martin and its team The F-22 systems testing largely fol- world” and then to the F-22, where it was
members, are the prime contributors to lows a set sequence. Development, inte- part of Block 3.0, the complete integrated
this cost-saving schedule. These include gration and testing begins with digital avionics suite. The system was first flown
the Avionics Integration Lab (AIL) at simulation and models. Subsystem testing on Raptor 4005, the fifth test aircraft, in
Boeing in Seattle; Lockheed Martin’s follows, using subsystem labs and the inte- January 2001.
Tactical Aircraft System Integration Lab gration laboratory. Then the subsystems Cockpit and display integration takes
(TASIL) in Fort Worth;TRW’s San Diego are brought together, and an integrated place at the CAIL, where the full system,
Avionics Integration Lab (SAIL), where system and upgrades are tested in the AIL like that at the AIL, is tested. Kaiser
the communication, navigation and identi- and FTB simultaneously. The integrated Electronics, now part of Rockwell Collins,
fication (CNI) system is tested; and the system is then delivered for installation provides the head-down displays, and
Cockpit Avionics Integration Lab (CAIL) on the F-22. BAE Systems (formerly Marconi) builds
in Marietta, Ga. Using the CNI system as an example, the head-up display.
In addition, Boeing’s 757 Flying Test the F-22 team had electronic integration

the team anticipates Lot 3 and 4 resulted in significant cost reductions. enhance lethality, not just survivabil-
buys, with deliveries extending The F-22 radar has weathered a ity,” says Lockheed Martin’s Shue. It
beyond 2005. challenging development and test can identify targets and provide pas-
The Northrop Grumman- program. In 1998, the FTB was taken sive search and tracking. F-22 pilots
Raytheon team has been active in to Baltimore for the radar’s stand- can detect and track targets without
supporting Air Force’s “war-on- alone subsystem testing. Northrop revealing their locations by using the
cost” initiatives. It has delivered all Grumman further verified the radar target aircraft’s radar returns rather
radar systems on time and within system software in its laboratory than their own.
cost, and has received several “out- prior to delivering it to the AIL. In The F-22 EW system was designed
standing team” awards from its December 1998, Block 2 software was as an integral part of the aircraft. This
prime contractors, as well as a Gold delivered, providing additional mode represents a marked improvement
Supplier “F-22 War-on-Cost Award” functions and marking the start of over the previous method of develop-
from the U.S. government. sensor integration. Delivery of the ing the aircraft and then equipping it
The team employed several inno- third radar software block enabled with EW. “Then we would have to
vations to win the cost war. A subarray testing of the avionics full sensor make compromises,” says Jim Bang-
interconnect improvement program fusion capabilities, and Block 3.0 hart, BAE Systems deputy general
reduced by 33 percent the labor integrated software testing began on manager for F-22. “With the F-22, all
required for assembly by employing a the FTB in September 2000. development was done in parallel,
ribbon bonding process that makes all allowing installation and functional
connections between the transmit Electronic Warfare tradeoffs to be made to optimize the
modules, the receive modules, the cir- The Raptor’s EW system serves not overall weapons system rather than
culators and the manifolds. Also, a only as a defensive mechanism that any one element of the design.”
transmit and receive module product warns the pilot of radar-directed Developed and produced by BAE
improvement program (PIP), involving threats, but also as an offensive asset. Systems in conjunction with Lock-
thousands of modules in the array, “It’s the first EW system to be used to heed Martin, the EW system pro-

8 Avionics Magazine
vides beyond-visual-range identifi- direction finding (PDF)—“accurately working on 16 cost-reduction efforts
cation of RF emitters, as well as locates the emissions in both the to achieve better than a 12-times
ra d a r wa r n i n g , m i s s i l e l a u n ch horizontal and vertical planes,” says payback on the cost of the EW sys-
detection and countermeasures. By Banghart. “In the Raptor, the PDF tem’s implementation. For example,
using such state-of-the-art compo- function allows detected signals to the company will replace the three
nents as surface-mounted devices, be correlated with other sensors, so receiver types with a digital receiver.
application-specific integrated cir- if you see a blip on the radar screen, The largest cost-reduction initiative,
cuits and monolithic microwave EW can identify the source by ana- this broadband receiver uses com-
integrated circuits, BAE Systems was lyzing emissions coming from that mercial off-the-shelf (COTS) compo-
able to package the 266 modules blip. It tells who is looking at us.” nents and will save the Air Force an
i n t o a t o t a l we i g h t o f j u s t 3 6 5 The F-22’s radar warning and PDF estimated $500 million over the life
pounds. Its 156 antenna elements capability provide high resolution of the program.
are located in four embedded aper- for tracking and identification and
tures and are treated to preserve the the type of accuracy normally asso- Infrared Subsystem
Raptor’s stealth features. ciated with ELINT (electronic intelli- While BAE Systems accounts for the
A major contributor to the pilot’s gence) gathering systems, but on a RF subsystem of the F-22’s EW suite,
situational awareness, EW provides tactical aircraft. The EW system’s Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire
the location of radar emitters that high-speed processing is divided Control, in Orlando, Fla., is responsi-
are trying to detect or track him well equally—half performed in the CIP ble for the missile launch detector
before the Raptor becomes visible to and half performed in the system’s (MLD). It provides passive detection of
the threat’s radar. With full 360- dedicated front-end processors. missiles launched at the F-22 from
degree EW coverage, the system BAE Systems credits another EW ground-based or airborne threats.
detects and identifies RF emitters on function with making passive track- There are six MLDs: two mounted
the ground and in the air. The F-22 ing possible. The system’s narrow- behind the cockpit, two underneath
pilot receives data necessary to beam, interleaved search-and-track and one on each side of the aircraft,
determine whether to engage or (NBILST) capability provides beyond- providing full 360-degree coverage.
avoid the threat. The system identi- visual-range identification—another Windows in front of each sensor are
fies the type of radar “painting” the first for fighter aircraft, according to contoured into the aircraft’s surface
F-22 by measuring characteristics of Banghart. By using high-gain, nar- to maintain stealth performance.
the received signals (frequency, row-beam antenna patterns, special The MLDs look for heat energy
pulse width, interval between puls- receivers and signal processing, this from missile plumes or rocket boost-
es, etc.) and comparing them with function becomes thousands of ers. They also can detect aerodynamic
data loaded during pre-flight plan- times more sensitive than most heat gain from approaching missiles,
ning. The measured characteristics standard radar warning receivers. warning the pilot that his aircraft has
can indicate even radar modes and “If the F-22’s avionics suite sees been targeted. When the system
warn the pilot that a missile is about an emitter or a target using any of its detects a missile, the pilot would nor-
to be launched. sensors, it can ask this [NBILST] mally eject flares to counter it. If the
EW antennas embedded in the function to take a high-sensitivity missile is coming from the same
aircraft’s surface help preserve the F- look in that direction and make an direction as that of identitified RF sig-
22’s stealth attributes. BAE Systems identification based on emissions nals, it suggests chaff would be the
provides the apertures, treats them from the target,” Banghart explains. preferred countermeasure. Release of
for radar cross section (RCS), and The F-22’s EW suite also went countermeasures can be automatical-
ships them to Marietta, where Lock- through intensive lab testing, using a ly or manually directed. The MLD also
heed Martin performs final milling $25-million, 20-foot-long, advanced can monitor correct ignition and
and antenna calibrations. dynamic RF simulator (ADARS) and release of the flare.
Another EW function—precision the FTB aircraft. And BAE Systems is
CNI
The Flying Test Bed, a much-modified Boeing 757, is used Once considered a fairly routine sys-
to test the F-22’s subsystems and integrated avioncs suite. tem that pilots still refer to simply as
“com-nav,” communication, naviga-
tion and identification has evolved to
play an essential role in the Raptor’s
advanced integrated avionics suite.
The F-22 CNI, managed by Lockheed
Martin team member TRW in San
Diego, is key to sending and receiving
information but also to detecting and
tracking targets. It includes a secure
data link with other ground and air-
borne sources, which inform the F-22
pilot of target locations and the pre-
cise position of other members of his

10 Avionics Magazine
formation. weighs 260 pounds
The CNI system allows the F-22 and draws 2,800 watts
pilot to operate in controlled or hos- of power, is housed in
tile airspace. It integrates traditional two integrated avion-
functions such as UHF/VHF radios, ics racks with external
tactical air navigation system, instru- LRUs, including anten-
ment landing system and air combat na interfaces and
maneuvering instrumentation with audio control panels.
new functions, such as advanced “The glue that
data links and a high-accuracy elec- makes all these sig-
tronically scanned interrogator. nals operate simulta-
Some 52 percent of the total neously is contained Internal weapons storage
avionics sensor software resides in in the computer soft- helps give the F-22
the CNI subsystem, accounting for ware modules, com- stealth performance.
350,000 lines of code, according to Joe prising about 400,000 lines of code,” vides the fiber optic network inter-
Gerard, TRW Radio Systems’ director says Gerard. “They make the whole face unit, which lets the CIP com-
of business development-military integrated avionics for the CNI municate with the F-22 systems.
programs. The CNI system was work.”  Smiths Aerospace, in the UK, fur-
developed by a 10-company team The CNI system’s maintainability nishes the digital memory video
headed by Lockheed Martin, which has been improved through integrat- recorder;
provides system engineering and ed diagnostics, and the use of com-  General Dynamics Decision Sys-
integration and some of the CNI soft- mon modules reduces supportability tems, Scottsdale, Ariz., makes the
ware. A supplier team headed by costs. Gerard cites module reliability crypto (KOV-5) LRM;
TRW includes these companies: examples as high as 16,000 hours  Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire
 Rockwell Collins provides the UHF predicted mean time between fail- Control, in Orlando, supplies the
and VHF communications; ures (MTBF) for a preprocessor and non-RF (or IR) signal processor;
 BAE Systems furnishes all the 18,500 hours for a single L-band  BAE Systems, Nashua, N.H., sup-
apertures for the F-22’s CNI sys- receiver. plies the graphics processor.
tem, the specialized intra-flight CNI upgrades will migrate toward  Boeing developed the power supply;
data link (IFDL) system and the open architecture and COTS hard- and
joint tactical information distribu- ware, Gerard says, and go from mili-  TRW, in San Diego, furnishes the
tion system (JTIDS) hardware and tary standard CIPs to commercial low-latency signal processor.
software; and PC-based processors. And while
 ITT provides transponder systems. much of the CNI processing is done Flight Controls/Stores
in the core computers, “in CNI-2, it Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth is
CNI radio systems have full spec- will reside in the CNI racks,” he adds. responsible for designing the archi-
trum capability, from 100 to 5,000 CNI testing followed the pattern tecture, software and algorithms for
MHz, including VOR, DME, JTIDS, IFF used with the radar and EW sys- the F-22’s fly-by-wire flight control
(identification friend or foe) Mode S tems. Block 2/3 testing added CNI system. Other companies supplying
transponder/interrogator (for updat- and EW to the package, and Block 3 systems for the Raptor’s flight control
ed air traffic control), and a traffic testing, which began in 2000, tested and stores include:
alert collision avoidance system the avionics system’s full fusion sen-  Raytheon, which supplies the flight
(TCAS). GPS navigational capability sor capabilities. control processor;
has been added in the 3.1 software  BAE Systems, the interface mod-
update for the F-22, combining this CIP ules;
system with the inertial navigation Two Common Integrated Proces-  Parker Aerospace, the actuators;
system (INS). Northrop Grumman sors provide the computing power  Rosemont Aerospace, the air data
provides the combined GPS-INS sys- f o r t h e F - 2 2 ’s s e n s o r f u s i o n . system computers and sensors;
tem for primary navigation. Raytheon, working with Lockheed  ITT, the air combat maneuvering
Other growth functions support- Martin, heads the team that is instrumentation (ACMI) system,
ed by F-22’s CNI system include a developing and producing this crit- which will be used in F-22 pilot
microwave landing system (MLS) ical subsystem. Raytheon, in El training; and
and satellite communications (SAT- Segundo, Calif., is the CIP integra-  Lockheed Martin Aeronautics pro-
COM), which supports “constant tor and supplies CIP software and vides all software and integration
source” real-time intelligence. the common line replaceable mod- for the F-22’s stores management
By going to “an integrated avionics ules (LRMs). Lockheed Martin Aero- system, which controls all
strategy—using common signal n a u t i c s , i n M a r i e t t a , m a n ag e s weaponry and launch sequences
processors, data processors and dis- development of the core processor for advanced air-to-air and air-to-
plays—TRW has been able to reduce and also writes key portions of the surface weapons. The company
size, weight and power requirements software that runs the CIP. Other also conducts fit checks for the
for the F-22’s CNI system by one third,” suppliers for the CIP include: AIM-9M (and soon AIM-9X) and
says Gerard. The system, which  Harris Corp., Melbourne, Fla., pro- AIM-120C AMRAAM missiles. 

Avionics Magazine 11
View
from the
Cockp
Bret Luedke, Lockheed
Martin F-22 chief test pilot

12 Avionics Magazine
 P
ilots who have flown 22. Luedke was the first pilot to fly was built. A two-seat F-22 was con-
the F-22 Raptor agree Raptor 4004, the first F-22 equipped sidered an unnecessary expense,
that one feature with the integrated avionics suite. since ease of handling makes transi-
stands foremost tion from the simulator to the sin-
among the technolo- Sensors gle-seat fighter relatively easy,
gy breakthroughs In its primary role of detecting, iden- according to pilots who have flown
that separate the air tifying and destroying enemy tar- the Raptor.
dominance fighter gets, the F-22 has the unique capa- In addition to the flying quality
from other aircraft today: its com- bility to process and fuse informa- simulators used by test pilots, Lock-
puter-managed advanced avionics tion from offboard as well as heed Martin maintains two cockpit
suite. This feature enables the pilot onboard sensors. This capability demonstrators, to show cockpit lay-
to operate in battle conditions with- helps confirm targets, telling who out and design and depict the Rap-
out the burden of managing individ- they are and where they are going. tor’s integrated avionics system. The
ual sensors. But while the Raptor can gather demonstrator’s flight control soft-
“The big difference is the integrat- valuable target and threat informa- ware almost mirrors that in the real
ed avionics in the F-22,” says Bret tion from satellites, ground sources airplane—though, obviously, classi-
Luedke, Lockheed Martin’s F-22 chief and airborne sources, such as the fied information is not displayed.
test pilot. “With other airplanes, Airborne Warning and Control Sys-
information is displayed on three or tem (AWACS), the fighter also has In the Driver’s Seat
four different displays, forcing the considerable standalone capability. Avionics Magazine was invited to “fly”
pilot to do comparison and analysis, Indeed, Luedke believes that “when an air-to-air mission in the F-22
and decide whether a target on the the Air Force starts flying the air- demonstrator. Climbing into the
radar display is the same target he planes operationally, the F-22 itself Raptor cockpit, one first notices the
sees on the radar warning display. will eventually play a significant part large, full-color multifunction dis-
“In the F-22, we let the computers in feeding the [mission data acquisi- plays, made by Kaiser Electronics. In
on the airplane do that for us,” he tion] system.” the center, horizontally, is the prima-
adds. “The main benefit is the Unlike F-15 and F-16 pilots, who ry tactical display, providing real-
increase in the pilot’s situational rely primarily on radar, F-22 pilots time situational awareness (aircraft
awareness and the decrease in the get data from various onboard sys- position, speed, altitude, etc.) and
workload.” tems (some passive) to secure track- threat location.
Raptor pilots, therefore, are tacti- ing and targeting information. “The By applying pressure to the cursor
cians and not sensor managers. “We electronic warfare [EW] and com- control button on the throttle quad-
get a single display that is integrat- munication, navigation and identi- rant (much like using a mouse on a
ed,” says Luedke. “All information is fication [CNI] system sensors col- computer), the pilot can move a cur-

[ The F-22 Raptor is a complex fighter aircraft. Yet, with its ease of handling
and ability to fuse data from multiple sensors to provide complete
situational awareness, pilots find it easier to fly than older airplanes. ]
pit
lect information, and if we need to sor onto the target symbols in the
use radar to acquire more accurate display. He thus gains, through sen-
range, velocity or rate-of-closure sor fusion, the target’s speed, alti-
data, then [the computers] will cue tude and identification.
the radar to do that,” Luedke says, Upon being identified, the targets
d e s c r i b i n g t h e E W s y s t e m ’s appear on the display in colors:
automation. green for friendly, yellow for uniden-
Four F-22s, fully equipped with the tified, and red for hostile. A wing-
integrated avionics, have been test man, should there be one, would
flown at Edwards AFB. This activity is appear on the display in blue. This
put into one picture for us, a 360- part of the preparation for Air Force information, along with basic flight
degree view around the airplane.” initial operational testing, scheduled data—airspeed, angle of attack, g-
Luedke, assigned to the F-22 to begin in the spring of 2003. f o rc e a n d we a p o n s s t a t e — a l s o
Combined Test Force at Edwards No one has flown, or flown in, an appears on the F-22 pilot’s head-up
AFB, Calif., has more than 4,000 F-22 other than qualified Air Force display (HUD), with enemy targets
hours of flight test time in 40 differ- and contractor test pilots, however. depicted as triangles.
ent aircraft, including the F-16, F-4 This is because—like several previ- To the right of the tactical display
and T-37. Since making his first Rap- ous jet fighters, including the first is the offensive display, from which
tor test flight in June 2000, he has s t e a l t h f i g h t e r, t h e F - 1 1 7 the pilot can determine when the
logged more than 120 hours in the F- Nighthawk—no two-seat version missiles are ready to fire, and in what
Avionics Magazine 13
The cockpit the cockpit they turned red on the display. Using
demonstrator
mirrors the panel. “But it is information from a large onboard
F-22 cockpit. not necessarily database, the display told us that
fused or corre- they were Su-27 Flankers at 40,000
lated. In fact, it feet, traveling at 0.8 Mach and right
was the pilot’s off our nose at 65 miles.
brain that acted Because we saw the four “ban-
as the data dits” perfectly, did this mean they
fusion comput- were being “painted” by our radar?
e r. N o w t h a t “Not necessarily,” says Callaghan.
fusion takes “You’re getting this information
place inside the from a variety of sources. The com-
CIP.” puter fuses it, correlates it and spits
The various it out to the onboard displays.”
sources of infor- The velocity vectors (lines that
m a t i o n — f ro m extend from the front of the target
onboard and off- symbols) indicated the airspeed of
board sensors— the now-identified targets. On the
sequence. The screen provides a ver- assure data accuracy in the F-22 offensive display, a fan-like symbol
tical display of the mission-area situ- cockpit. The pilot is certain that, say, on the velocity vector showed (when
ation, showing the altitudes of four separate targets on a display are it touched the display’s aircraft sym-
threats, friendly aircraft and the not “one guy showing up four times, bol) how far away the enemy plane
pilot’s own aircraft in relation to the or worse, four guys showing up as can see you, theoretically, on its
terrain. one contact,” Callaghan explains. He radar. With the F-22’s stealth capa-
adds that the CIP provides two valu- bilities, the enemy aircraft can be
Defensive Display able bits of data: “where everybody is, detected at a greater distance, allow-
The screen to the left of the prima- and who they are.” ing a first-look, first-shoot and first-
ry tactical display is the defensive The F-22, like the F-16, is flown kill capability.
d i s p l a y, s h o w i n g t h e a i r a n d with a sidestick controller. Also
ground-based threats. It approxi- incorporating a red fire control but- Options for Attack
mates the radar warning receiver ton, the sidestick is positioned on We then got ready to “whack” the
(RWR) on other fighters, in addi- the cockpit’s right side. The twin enemy. Pushing the cursor button
tion to pinpointing the location of throttles are on the left. highlighted, or “designated,” the red
the radar that “sees” you. It even Only slight pressure on the side- targets. With multiple targets, the
tells what type of radar it is and its stick is required to control the F-22 computer can be preloaded (after a
range. Red rings on the display in flight. The flight control computer preflight briefing) to automatically
represent enemy surface-to-air does the complex job of managing s e l e c t t h e f i r s t t a rg e t a n d t h e
missile (SAM) sites and their the F-22’s fly-by-wire flight control sequence of missile firings after
detection ranges. system, engines and thrust vector- that. Or we had the option of select-
The weapons display below the ing. The computer determines prop- ing our own order of targets. Also,
primary tactical display shows how er movement of control surfaces with a wingman on our left, we
many of the F-22’s missiles remain and deflection of the engine could opt to take out two bandits
aboard and how many rounds are in exhaust nozzles “to get you there in and have the other pilot take out the
the aircraft’s 20-mm cannon, as well the most efficient and expeditious other two.
as the availability of chaff and way,” Callaghan says. When the aircraft was in firing
flares. A smaller display (upper range and we maneuvered the F-22
right) presents the F-22’s altitude After the Bad Guys within proper firing parameters, the
and airspeed. And on the left is the On a simulated mission, we could computer flashed a “shoot” sign on
caution and warning system, which see on the tactical display our loca- the tactical display and on the HUD.
displays malfunctions and corre- tion from geographical reference Pressing the red button on the side-
sponding corrective actions. points. We also could detect that at stick opened the weapons doors and
“What distinguishes the F-22’s about 100 miles range, we had a the missile exited and fired.
displays from those in legacy aircraft flight of four aircraft in formation By pressing the “select” switch
is the source of the data being pre- coming directly toward us. At the again, we highlighted the second
sented, which is the Common Inte- same time, a flight of two aircraft bandit and, again, received the
grated Processor [CIP],” says Steve appeared 10 degrees to our left, about shoot signal. The same process was
Callaghan, Lockheed Martin F-22 70 miles away. repeated for bandits 3 and 4. The
program representative. “In the past, Using the button on the throttle simulator even emitted a noise and
we might have an RWR over here quadrant, we placed the cursor on showed a plume of smoke resulting
that is getting info from its own sen- the two aircraft and discover that from the missile firing.
sors, a radar display that relies on its these are “friendlies,” two F-16s. But We had four kills. Mission accom-
own information from a data link,” when the four ships in formation plished, we flew back to base. 
he adds, pointing to various areas of were within identification range,
14 Avionics Magazine
Why Air Superiority
Is Essential

[R] ecent conflicts

have affirmed
the value of a
comprehensive air offen-
sive. Aerial campaigns have neutral-
ized enemy threats, paving the way
for successful ground operations.
They have shown that air superiori-
ty is essential in providing a rapid
response to threats or incursions
against U.S. interests.
With rapid advances in informa-
tion processing and display, and
particularly in avionics systems
aboard aircraft, enemies and poten-
tial foes have access to advanced
a i r c r a f t t h a t U. S . f o r c e s m a y
encounter at any time, threatening
their ability to wage battle. With a
fleet of air superiority fighters near-
ing 30 years old, even with
upgrades, the United States may fall
behind its adversaries.

[ ]
The F-22 Raptor is shown here firing an
The F-22 Raptor is this new breed
AIM-120 advanced, medium-range, air-
of fighter designed to maintain U.S.
dominance of the skies during the “Do we want for to-air missile, or AMRAAM.

21st century. Using many technologi-

cal advances to achieve stealth,
the first time and missile and avionics capabilities
of our best current fighters. The
supersonic cruise, agility and
advanced integrated avionics, the F-
to send our potential enemy matches our best
current jet.
22 is set to dominate the skies over airmen into “Do we want for the first time to
any future battlefield and bring send our airmen into combat with
unequaled capability into the hands combat with inferior equipment?” Hodge asks.
of U.S. Air Force fighter pilots. “We’ve never done that before.” With
The Raptor is scheduled to inferior the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S.
become operational in 2005. Air Force pilots have been able to fly a number
plans call for a fleet of 339 Raptors by
equipment?” of former Soviet and East German
the end of 2013. By the time it fighters to see how those airplanes
becomes the United States’ air domi- match up with U.S. aircraft. There
nance fighter, the average age of its fighters, they have caught up with was a chilling conclusion.
predecessor (the venerable F-15) will us,” says Mark Hodge, director of F-22 “Our pilots in their airplanes beat
be 35 years, and its design nearly 50 programs for Lockheed Martin’s our pilots in our airplanes 100 per-
years old. Washington office. “Other forces cent of the time,” according to USAF
Why do we need the F-22? “With have access to fighter aircraft [pro- Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper. That
potential adversaries continuing to duced in Russia and elsewhere], will change dramatically when the F-
evolve designs and produce new jet which match the performance, range 22 comes along. 
Avionics Magazine 15
F-22 Raptor
[1993]
March 1: Lockheed purchases Gen-
eral Dynamics’ Fort Worth
Division

Milestones [1994]
Feb 10: F-22 procurement reduced
from 648 to 422

[1995]
March 15: L o c k h e e d a n d M a r t i n
Marietta merge
June 2: Assembly of first F-22
mid-body begins
Oct. 4: Assembly of first F-22 aft
section and wings begins
Nov. 2: Assembly of first F-22
integrated forebody
begins

[1996]
Jan. 17: Boeing begins assembly of
first shipset of wings
Oct. 8: First two flight test F119
engines delivered
Oct. 16: Fuselage mate started on
first F-22
Nov. 9: Wings for first F-22 arrive
at Marietta from Boeing
Dec.: Electrical power applied to
F-22 for first time

[1997]
April 9: F-22 Raptor rollout cere-
mony held at Marietta
Aug. 16: Low-speed taxi test com-
pleted
Sept. 5: High-speed taxi test com-
pleted
Sept. 7: First flight of F-22 Raptor;
pilot: Paul Metz

[1998]
Feb. 5: F-22 transported to
Edwards AFB for flight test
The first in-flight refueling of an F-22 Raptor occurred on July 30, 1998. March 31: YF-22 placed in the Air
Force Museum
May 17: Formal flight testing at
[1990] Dec. 31: Lockheed/Boeing/General Edwards AFB begins
Jan. 13: Assembly of first YF-22 Dynamics submits F-22 June 29: First flight of second F-22
prototype begins proposal to U.S. Air Force (Aircraft 4002) at Marietta
Sept. 29: First flight of the first YF- July 30: First in-flight refueling of
22 prototype; pilot: Dave [1991] Aircraft 4001
Ferguson Jan.: F-22 program begins relo- Aug. 26: Aircraft 4002 flies nonstop
Oct. 30: First flight of the second cation to Marietta, Ga.; to Edwards AFB: pilot: Lt.
YF-22 prototype; pilot: Gulf War begins Col. Steve Rainey
Tom Morgenfeld April 23: Lockheed/Boeing/General Oct. 10: First flight at supersonic
Nov. 28: First live missile firing, Dynamics F-22 team wins speed of Aircraft 4001
ATF program; Jon Beesley ATF contract Nov. 23: First Block 1 integrated
fires an AIM-9 Aug. 2: Engineering and manu- production software
Dec. 11: YF-22s fly in formation for facturing development released to Flying Test Bed
first time (EMD) contract awarded (FTB)

16 Avionics Magazine
Wings are attached to the F-22 Raptor fuselage during the aircraft’s final assembly.
fighter to successfully
Nov. 23: Lockheed Martin achieves Range Air-to-Air Missile launch an AIM-9 missile
Congressionally mandat- launch from Aircraft 4002; while rolling at 100
ed 183-flight-hour mark pilot: Lt. Col. “Doc” Nelson degrees per second
Oct. 31: P ra t t & W h i t n ey c o m - Aug. 15: Defense Acquisition Board
[1999] pletes 2, 150 TAC cycles, (DAB) unanimously rec-
March 11: Boeing begins testing first 1/2 full hot section life ommended proceeding
avionics package on FTB Nov. 2: Raptor 4001 ferried from with F-22 low-rate initial
April 29: Raptor 4002 flies first time Edwards AFB to Wright- production
with both main and side Patterson AFB, Ohio, for Aug. 22: Live fire test on Raptor
weapons bay doors open live-fire testing 4001 was conducted at
May 4: Raptor 4002 records pro- Nov. 15: First flight of Aircraft 4004, Wright-Patterson AFB
gram’s 100th flight-test the first avionics Raptor; Sep 14: F-22 program is approved
sortie pilot: Bret Luedke to enter into low-rate ini-
July 21: Raptor 4001 demonstrates tial production
supercruise for first time [2001] Sep 21: The F-22 Raptor launched
(Mach 1.5, approximately Jan. 5: First flight of Raptor 4005; the first guided AIM-120
1,100 mph, for 3 minutes) pilot: Randy Neville missile
Aug. 25: Raptor 4002 conducts 60- Jan. 30: Raptor 4004 ferried to Oct. 15: First flight of Raptor 4007
degree high angle of Edwards AFB Oct 18: DAB authorizes Lot 2 con-
attack Feb. 5: First flight of Raptor 4006; tract for a 13 aircraft buy.
Nov. 23: F-22, KC-10 refueling quali- pilot: Al Norman
fication testing completed March 11: R a p t o r 4 0 0 5 f e r r i e d t o [2002]
Dec. 21: 5 0 0 t h f l i g h t - t e s t h o u r Edwards AFB Jan. 5: Aircraft 4007 ferried from
accomplished April 17: F-22 launched an AIM-9 Marietta to Edwards AFB.
missile while rolling at 60 Jan. 15: The Air Force announced
[2000] degrees per second its decision to base the
March 6: First flight of Aircraft 4003; April 18: F - 2 2 p ro g ra m re a ch e d first operational wing of F-
pilot: Chuck Killberg 1,000th flight-test hour 22 Raptors at Langley Air
March 15: Aircraft 4003 flies nonstop May 17: Raptor 4003 successfully Force Base, Va.
to Edwards AFB; pilot: Lt. flew at maximum Mach Feb. 8: Aircraft 4008 completed
Col. Bill Craig May 18: R a p t o r 4 0 0 6 f e r r i e d t o first flight
July 25: First AIM-9 launch from Edwards AFB; full after- May 15: Ground-based, full-scale
Aircraft 4002; pilot: Chuck burners were used for the static testing completed
Killberg first time on takeoff
Oct. 24: First Advanced Medium- June 13: F-22 becomes first tactical

Avionics Magazine 17
F-22 Raptor:
A Nationwide Endeavor
More than 1,000 first-tier companies have joined together to develop and manufacture the F-22 Raptor. Scattered throughout the United
States, these subcontractors work on a team lead by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. and including Pratt & Whitney, Northrop Grumman
Electronic Systems, BAE Systems,TRW and Boeing Military Aircraft & Missile Systems. Space prohibits listing all F-22 subcontractors;
we therefore list the following companies, which provide $50 million or more in production for the F-22 Raptor.

Advanced
Systems Te c h n o l o g i e s
■ American Precision Products ■ Barnhart
& Rigging ■ Campbell Engineering Co. ■ Coating Technologies
ate ■ General Products LLC ■ GKN Westland Aerospace Inc. ■ Infinity Technology Inc. ■ Southland
sion ■ Wyle Laboratories ■ General Dynamics Decision Systems ■ Honeywell International-Engine & Systems ■
conductor Corp. ■ Phoenix Logistics Inc. ■ Raytheon Missiles Systems Co. ■ Sargent Controls & Aerospace ■
3 Inc. ■ Universal Propulsion Co. ■ Chem-Fab Corp. ■ Aerojet General Corp. ■ Aerospace Dynamics Inc. ■
(Rohr) ■ BAE Systems Inc. ■ Certified Fabrications Inc. ■ Composites Horizons Inc. ■ Dasco Engineering ■ Eaton-St
Inc. ■ GKN Aerospace Chem-Tronics Inc. ■ Hexcel Corp. ■ Honeywell International ■ Kaiser Electronics ■ Lockheed Marti
Raytheon Co. ■ Schlosser Forge Co. ■ Shultz Steel Co. ■ TRW Inc. ■ ITT Industries Inc. Systems Div. ■ Reyco Precision
Technologies LLC ■ GKN Westland ■ Gros-Ite Industries ■ Hamilton Sundstrand Corp. (UTC) ■ HTD Aerospace Inc. ■ Jar
Pratt & Whitney ■ United Technologies ■ Whitcraft LLC ■ Dupont Co. ■ Atlantic Precision ■ Baker Hill Industries Inc. ■
Corp. ■ Invensys Sensor Systems ■ KAM Specialties Inc. ■ Lockheed Martin Aerostructures ■ Lockheed Martin—Missiles
Devices Inc. ■ Unison Industries ■ Aeroquip Corp. ■ Aero-Tech Tooling Services Inc. ■ Damascus Road Systems Inc. ■ D
Aerospace Machining ■ McClier Inc. ■ Pratt & Whitney ■ Phoenix Software ■ Quarterwave Corp. ■ Tucker Data Services ■
■ Derlan Precision ■ Hamilton Sunstrand Corp. ■ L-3 Communications ■ Honeywell Aircraft Landing ■ Honeywell Intern
Rolls-Royce Corp. ■ Spencer Industries ■ Tri-Industries ■ Litton Systems Inc. ■ Brittain Machine Inc. ■ Manufacturing
nifin Corp. ■ ECI Systems & Engineering ■ Pratt & Whitney ■ Fairchild Defense Division ■ Kaydon Ring & Seal Inc. ■
PerkinElmer Fluid Sciences ■ Advance Manufacturing Co. Inc. ■ Burke Industries, Silicon Prods ■ Kidde Technology ■ Pa
Gage Co. Inc. ■ Wyman Gordon Co. ■ Aeroquip Corp. ■ Aerospace Group ■ Dynalog Inc. ■ Eaton Aeroquip Corp. ■ Glob
ponents ■ Jedco Inc. ■ Metro Machine Works Inc. ■ Models & Tools Inc. ■ Moeller Manufacturing ■ Pratt & Whitn
Visioneering Inc. ■ Woodward Inc. ■ LAI Midwest Inc. ■ Par Systems Inc. ■ Remmele Engineering Inc. ■ Rosemount
May Tool & Mold Inc. ■ Sever Industries Inc. ■ Tradco Inc. ■ Summit Design & Manufacturing ■ Viking Metallurgical
tems North America ■ Hitchiner Manufacturing Co. Inc. ■ New Hampshire Ball Bearings ■ Honeywell Internation
Smiths Industries ■ Sandia National Laboratories ■ Alken Industries Inc. ■ EDO Corp. ■ Federal Systems-Oweg
als Inc. ■ Hughes Treitler Manufacturing Corp. Lockheed Martin Systems Integration ■ Lourdes Industries I
Fastene ■ Curtiss Wright Flight Systems ■ Kidde Aerospace Inc. ■ Aluminum Co. of America ■ Argo-Tech C
■ Parker Hannifin Corp. ■ PCC Airfoils Inc. ■ PCC Precision Castparts Corp. ■ RMI Titanium Co. ■
Turbine ■ Engine Components Textron ■ United Aircraft Products Inc. ■ Hanard Machine ■
Casting Co. ■ Selmet Inc. ■ Wah Chang Albany Corp. ■ Hexcel Corp. ■ SPS Technologies
craft Center ■ Michelin Aircraft Tire Corp. ■ Micro Craft Inc. ■ Schm
tries Inc. ■ L-3 Communications ■ Raytheon Co. ■ Savage
Hannifin ■ Wyman Gordon Forgings Inc. ■ Metalcraft Tec ■
■ Howmet Structural Casting ■ CNC Diversified Manufact

[ ]
ing Co. ■ Fatigue Technology Inc. ■ General Dynamics
“The hard work and dedication of these Tactical Systems ■ Hytek
■ JL Manufacturing Co.
Team Raptor suppliers has been a
Products Inc. ■
major contributor to the excellence of tical Sys-
the aircraft design and performance.”

18 Avionics Magazine
 Joining Diverse Specialties
T
eamwork, a sage once said, is Lockheed Martin jokes that it contributor to the excellence of the
the joining of diverse special- “buys” the plane from its subcontrac- aircraft design and performance,”
ties for a common purpose in tors, because approximately 60 per- he adds.
order to accomplish more. The suc- cent of the work in building and There is a good reason for the far-
cess of the F-22 Raptor in meeting or equipping the F-22 is performed by flung network of suppliers through-
exceeding key performance require- suppliers. Without these team mem- out the United States and in Europe.
ments is a direct result of the com- bers, the aircraft could never have “There aren’t many people who can
bined specialties, and efforts, of a been designed or built, the prime build quality parts for an aircraft like
dedicated and talented team of sup- contractor maintains. the F-22. And even those who can
pliers throughout the United States These suppliers sometimes are simply not interested
and overseas. Major partners Boeing range from indus- in being involved in a program like
and Pratt & Whitney are part of a t r y g i a n t s l i k e this,” says Rearden. “The work is
team of 2,500 suppliers in 46 states, Crane where it is because that is where the
which enable prime con- Associ- people who want to do the work
tractor Lockheed Mar- Preci- reside.”
tin to build the Microsemi- The three companies who supply
w o r l d ’s m o s t Systems the sensor platforms that combine
advanced BFGoodrich to form the Raptor’s advanced inte-
terer (Vickers Inc.) ■ fighter. Forrest Machining grated avionics suite are convinced
of the significance of their contribu-
in Aeronautics Co. ■ Park- er Hannifin Corp. ■
tions to the F-22 program. “The APG-
■ Beacon Industries Inc. ■ Dynamic Gunver
77 radar, being flown today on the
rvis Airfoil Inc. ■ Kaman Instrumentation Corp. ■ Raptor, ushers in a new era of com-
■ Eaton Corp. ■ Florida Eagle Industries Inc. ■ Harris bat capability. It represents the next
& Fire Control ■ Aeropower Corp. ■ Shaw Aero generation in technology and pro-
elta Sigma Co. ■ EMS Tech- nologies Inc. ■ McCann vides a new standard against which
■ Tucker Technology ■ Arrow Gear Co. ■ Aurora Bearing Co. Northrop Grum- everything that follows will be mea-
national ■ Howmet Corp. ■ Reeder & Kline Machine Co. Inc. ■ man, BAE Sys- sured,” says Northrop Grumman‚s
Development Inc. ■ McGinty Machine Co. Inc. ■ Parker Han- tems, TRW and Jerry Dunnigan, director of F-22
■ Northrop Grumman Electronic Sensors & Systems Sector ■ Raytheon to small radar programs.
arker Hannifin Corp. ■ Titeflex Corp. ■ TW Metals ■ Westfield “ mom and pop” “It’s the first time EW has been
tool and dye shops used to enhance lethality, not just
bal Tooling Systems ■ Howmet Corp. ■ Howmet Turbine Com-
that contribute survivability,” says Jim Banghart,
ney Autoair Composites ■ Rolled Alloys ■ Roush Crucam ■
important parts. commenting on the Raptor’s elec-
Aerospace Inc. ■ Advance Tool & Die Co. ■ GKN Aerospace ■ For some compa- tronic warfare suite. Banghart is BAE
l Corp. ■ Albany International ■ BAE Systems Inc. ■ BAE Sys- nies, the Raptor Systems’ F-22 systems director and
nal ■ Howmet Corp. ■ Kulite Semiconductor Products Inc. ■ rep re s e n t s t h e i r deputy general manager for F-22.
go ■ Hicksville Machine Works Corp. ■ Homogeneous Met- only aerospace “Some 52 percent of the total
Inc. ■ Moog ■ MRC Bearings Inc. ■ Peerless Aerospace business. avionics sensor software resides in
Corp. ■ Dupont Tribon Composites ■ Goodrich Corp. “It is unrealistic to the CNI [communications, navigation
■ Sermatech Lehr ■ Slabe Machine Products Co. ■ expect that even large cor- and identification] subsystem, man-
PCC Precision Castparts Corp. ■ PCC Schlosser porations like Lockheed Mar- aged by TRW,” adds Joe Gerard, TRW
Inc. ■ Stein Seal Co. ■ Lockheed Martin Air- tin-with its spectrum of tech- Radio Systems’ director of business
nology and aerospace experience- development, military programs. “But
miede Machine & Tool Corp. ■ Beacon Indus-
could build the airplane by our- by going to an integrated avionics
e Precision Fabrication ■ Stratoflex/Parker
selves,” says Robert Rearden, general strategy, we have been able to reduce
■ Fairchild Aerospace ■ Howmet Structurals
manager of the F-22 program. “Over size, weight and power requirements
turing Inc. ■ Exot- i c M e t - als Form- the years, we have assembled a for the system by one third.”
s Ord- nance & top-notch blue- ribbon collec- Reduced size and weight, greater
Fin- ishes tion of subcontractors and sup- capability and new generation of
■ Wilson pliers. technology-these are among the
ATK Tac- “The hard work and dedi- benefits the F-22 Raptor program has
tems Co. cation of these Team Raptor gained from joining diverse special-
suppliers has been a major ties, i.e., teamwork. 

Avionics Magazine 19