F-22 Milestones - Part 2

28 June 2000: The F-22’s AN/APG-70 active-element phased array radar is publicly displayed for the first time at Northrop Grumman in Baltimore, Maryland.

25 July 2000: Boeing Test Pilot Chuck Killberg is at the controls of Raptor 02 for the first launch of an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile from an F-22 at the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake, California.

24 October 2000: First launch of an AIM-120 AMRAAM from an F-22 (Raptor 02) is carried out at China Lake by Lt. Col. David Nelson.

2 November 2000: Chief test pilot Paul Metz flies Raptor 01 from Edwards AFB to Wright-Patterson AFB where the aircraft will undergo live-fire testing.

15 November 2000: Lockheed Martin test pilot Bret Luedke completes the first flight of Raptor 04 (Air Force serial number 91-4004), the first F-22 with a full-up avionics suite.

11 March 2001: Raptor 05 is ferried to Edwards AFB by Maj. Brian Ernisse.

17 April 2001: Paul Metz successfully launches an AIM-9 missile from an F-22 that is rolling at sixty degrees per second.

18 May 2001: Raptor 06 is flown from Marietta to Edwards AFB. Full afterburners are used for the first time on takeoff from Marietta.

1 February 2002: Lt. Col. David Nelson is at the controls for the first time a Raptor pulls nine g’s (Raptor 03).

21 May 2002: The F-22 arresting gear system is tested at Edwards AFB.

28 May 2002: Raptor 04 is ferried to Eglin AFB, Florida, for extreme temperature and environmental condition testing at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory.

7 June 2002: Raptor flight test program completes 2,000 hours.