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Raptor 4004, the fourth aircraft built and the first F-22 to fly with its advanced avionics hardware and integrated software aboard, was flown for the first time on 15 November from Lockheed Martin facilities in Marietta, Georgia. The first-time avionics hardware on the flight included the Raptor’s AN/APG-77 active element, phased array radar, the product of a joint venture between Northrop Grumman and Raytheon. Lockheed Martin test pilot Bret Luedke was at the controls during the thirty-seven-minute flight, which accomplished a major Defense Acquisition Board criterion for the program. The aircraft was ferried to Edwards AFB on 30 January. |
