|
 A live fire test performed on the F-22 Raptor showed the aircraft could sustain damage near the wing root, the point of highest structural loading, and still fly. Raptor 4001, the first F-22 built, took a 30mm high explosive incendiary round in the fully fueled wing during tests conducted at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, in August. The Soviet-produced round was fired at a fifteen-degree angle to the wing to inflict the most damage, penetrating the lower skin at more than 2,000 feet per second (producing a visible entry hole) and detonating just below the upper skin. The resulting shock wave traveled through the fuel and imparted loads on the internal structure and skins. The damage was confined to an area approximately three feet by four feet on the upper wing, not significant enough to interrupt flight.
The test simulated the Raptor being hit during flight. Computer-controlled hydraulic jacks pushed against Raptor’s wings to simulate a three-g flight load while five J85 jet engines blew air across the wing at 300 knots to simulate the slipstream. Additional tests were later conducted to determine the remaining flight capability of the damaged wing, with flight loads of five g’s applied. Technicians will use established aircraft battle damage repair techniques to mend the wing. A second test will be conducted with a shot into the wing’s leading edge, which is one of two F-22 live fire tests remaining.
|
