F 22 Images - The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As a result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed as an air-superior fighter, but also has ground attack, electronic warfare and signals intelligence capabilities. Prime contractor Lockheed Martin built most of the F-22's airframe and weapon systems and performed final assembly, while Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration and training systems.
The aircraft first flew in 1997 and was variously referred to as the F-22 and F/A-22 before officially entering service as the F-22A in December 2005. While the USAF had originally planned to purchase a total of 750 ATFs , the program was reduced to 187 operational aircraft in 2009 due to high costs and the absence of air-to-air missions due to the military's focus on counterinsurgency operations at times. production, export ban and development of the more affordable and versatile F-35;
F 22 Images
While the F-22 had a lengthy development and initial operational challenges, it has become a critical component of the USAF's tactical air force. The fighter's combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance and mission systems provided unprecedented aerial combat capabilities and set the limit for its decline.
Rejuvenating The Raptor: Roadmap For F 22 Modernization
The F-22 is expected to serve through the 2030s and eventually be replaced by the USAF's Next Generation Air Domination (NGAD) manned fighter component.
In 1981, the US Air Force set a requirement for an Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) to replace the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Codenamed "Sior Sky", this air superiority warfare program has been affected by new threats around the world, including new developments in Soviet air defense systems and the proliferation of the Sukhoi Su-27 "Flanker" and Mikoyan MiG-29 "Fulcrum" plane. - fighter class.
It will take advantage of new technologies in fighter aircraft design on the horizon, including composite materials, light alloys, advanced flight control systems and avionics, more powerful propulsion systems and, most importantly, stealth technology. In 1983, the ATF concept development team became the Systems Program Office (SPO) and managed the program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The Display and Verification (Dem/Val) request for proposals (RFP) was issued in September 1985, and the requirements emphasized secrecy and supernavigation. Teamwork was encouraged across companies thanks to the massive investment required to develop the technology needed to meet performance targets. From the companies that offer Sev,
Lockheed and Northrop were selected on October 31, 1986. Lockheed teamed with Boeing and Geral Dynamics through its Skunk Works division, Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas, and the two contractor teams completed a 50-month Dem/Val phase. Flight testing of two technology demonstration prototypes, the YF-22 and YF-23 respectively. At the same time, Pratt & Whitney and Geral Electric won the contracts to develop the YF119 and YF120 machines respectively for the ATF machine competition.
F 22 Raptor > Air Force > Fact Sheet Display
Dem/Val focused on system development, technology development plans and risk mitigation through point aircraft design; In fact, after downsizing, the Lockheed team completely changed the airframe configuration in the summer of 1987 due to weight analysis during detailed design; Notable changes in wing planform, from swept trapezoidal to diamond-like delta, and a reduction of the forward fuselage planar area.
Contractors made extensive use of analytical and empirical methods, including computational fluid dynamics, wind tunnel tests, and radar cross section (RCS) calculations and mast tests; The Lockheed team would conduct about 18,000 hours of wind tunnel testing. The development of avionics was characterized by extensive testing and prototyping and supported by ground and aircraft laboratories.
During Dem/Val, the SPO used the results of performance and cost trade-off studies conducted by contractor teams to adjust the ATF requirements and delete those of marginal value but with significant weight and cost factors. The short take-off and landing (STOL) requirement was relaxed to delete thrust reversers, resulting in significant weight savings. Side-facing radars were deleted as avionics were a significant cost factor, and the dedicated infrared search and track (IRST) system was downgraded from multi-colour to monochrome and also deleted. However, space and refrigerants are preserved so that these ingredients can be added later. The ejection seat requirement has been reduced from a new design to the existing McDonnell Douglas ACES II. Despite the efforts of the contractor crews to rein in the weight, the take-off gross weight estimate was increased from 50,000 lb (22,700 kg) to 60,000 lb (27,200 kg), resulting in an increase in the guinea pressure requirement from 30,000 lbf (133 kN) to 35,000 lbf (156 kN) class.
Each team built two prototype aircraft for Dem/Val, one for each of the two engine options. The YF-22 made its maiden flight on September 29, 1990, and flight tests were up to Mach 1.58 at supercruise. After Dem/Val flight testing of prototypes, on 23 April 1991 USAF Secretary Donald Rice announced the Lockheed team and Pratt & Whitney as the winners of the ATF and guinea competitions.
F 22 Being Used To Test Next Generation Air Dominance 'fighter' Tech
The YF-23 design was considered more stealthy and faster, while the YF-22 with thrust vectoring nozzles was less explosive and risky as well as more maneuverable.
The press speculated that the Lockheed team's design was more aligned with the US Navy's Naval Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF).
When the program moved to full-scale development or engineering and manufacturing development (EMD), the F-22 production design differed significantly from the YF-22, although it had a similar configuration. The forward angle of the wing was reduced from 48° to 42°, while the vertical stabilizers were moved to the rear and reduced by 20% in area.
The radome shape has been changed for better radar performance and the wingtips for the antennas have been clipped. To improve the pilot's field of vision and aerodynamics, the canopy was moved 7 inches (18 cm) forward and the guinea inlets 14 inches (36 cm) aft. The shapes of the fuselage, wing and stabilizer trailing edges have been refined to improve aerodynamics, stiffness and stealth. The production body is designed with a lifespan of 8,000 hours.
F 22 Raptor > Tyndall Air Force Base > Display
Along with advances in avionics and propulsion technology, the F-22's avionics and software were unmatched in complexity and scale, with the fusion of multiple sssor systems and software integration of 1.7 million lines of code.
To enable early review and debugging for mission software development, a Boeing 757 was replaced with F-22 mission systems to serve as the Flying Test Bed avionics laboratory.
The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 lessened the Department of Defense's (DoD) urgent need for new weapons systems, and subsequent years saw reductions in DoD spending; this caused the F-22's EMD to be repositioned and serviced several times. Although prime contractor Lockheed acquired Geral Dynamics' fighter portfolio in Fort Worth, Texas in 1993 and thus owns most of the airframe production, the division of labor between the team has largely shifted from Dem/Val to EMD. Lockheed Martin Aviation
Primarily doing the Dem/Val job at the Skunk Works facilities in Burbank and Palmdale, California, it would move the program office and EMD business from Burbank to Marietta, Georgia, where it completed final assembly; program partner Boeing provided additional airframe components as well as avionics integration and training systems in Seattle, Washington.
This Video Proves The F 22 Raptor Is Unstoppable
The first F-22, an EMD aircraft with tail number 4001, was introduced on 9 April 1997 at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta and first flew on 7 September 1997.
The USAF had originally envisioned ordering 750 ATFs for FY 1985 dollars at a total program cost of $44.3 billion and a purchase price of $26.2 billion, with production beginning in 1994 and service trials in the late 1990s . The 1990 Major Aircraft Review, chaired by Defense Secretary Dick Chey, reduced this to 648 aircraft in service from 1996 and through the early to mid-2000s. After the end of the Cold War, this was further reduced in the 1993 Bottom-Up Review, and in 1997 funding instability brought the total down to 339, which was again reduced to 277 in 2003.
In 2004, under the command of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the DoD reduced the planned supply to 183 operational aircraft, although the Department of Defense, focusing on asymmetric counterinsurgency warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, preferred 381 to the sufficient number of squadrons for the US Air Force's Air Expeditionary Force structure . .
A multi-year procurement plan was implemented in 2006 to save $15 billion, and total program costs were estimated at $62 billion for the 183 F-22s deployed to the fighter squadrons.
F 22 Raptor Exposes Most Vulnerable Side In Defiant Show Of Confidence
In 2008, Congress passed a Defense Aviation Act that brought total orders for production aircraft to 187.
First batch delivered in September 2000, production supported more than 1,000 subcontractors and suppliers and up to 95,000 jobs from 46 states spanning 15 years at a peak rate of about two aircraft per hour. month.
The third was a Blok 2.0 aircraft, built to rebuild the internal structure of production aircraft, enabling full flight load testing. Six additional EMD aircraft were built in the Block 10 configuration for development and upgrade testing, the last two being considered primarily as production-grade jets. Operational fleet production consisting of 74 block 10/20 trainer aircraft and 112 block
T95 tank destroyer, t95 tank russian, t95 heavy tank, russian t 55 tank, t95 tank wot, t95 tank model, tank t95, russian t95, russian tank helmet, t95 super heavy tank, american t95 tank, russian tank
0 Comments