LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
In the skies of Georgia, F-22 Raptor factory workers, engineers and technicians of the plant watched July 27 as the 1st Fighter Wing commander, pushed the Raptor's throttle forward, expelling more than 70,000 pounds of thrust and reaching 18,000 feet in mere seconds as he flew Langley's new flagship home.
"The fifth generation fighter has been updated to carry a larger payload, has a more advanced radar system and has been modified so it will be easier to maintain, said Col. Matthew Molloy. "This is a Lot Eight Raptor-brand new from the factory. One of its capabilities is to carry a larger number of small diameter bombs. In essence the Raptor has gone from carrying two joint direct attack munitions to actually quadrupling that load to eight."
To add to the mass payload is "geolocation," which allows the aircraft to precisely find threats, target them and attack. Also there are sensors positioned throughout the aircraft called the integrated system, which gives the pilot 360 degree coverage of the battle space.
"Something else it brings to the war fighter is the ability within our own cockpit to identify ground targets using our synthetic aperture radar," said Colonel Molloy. "Then we can use geolocation to detect threats and immediately target them. Those are just some of the other capabilities that come with this aircraft."
"The accessibility to certain components and the ease to change out these components have made the Raptor easier to maintain," said Staff Sgt. Daniel Glabinski, 94th Air Maintenance Unit crew chief. "Another improvement is the kit and technical order changes in the aircraft made the Raptor more mechanic friendly. As each year progresses the maintenance on the aircraft has gotten easier and friendlier for us on the ground."
Eventually the older models of the Raptor will be sent back to the factory to receive the improvements seen in other Lot Eight aircraft. In addition to the new flagship, the Department of the Air Force announced June 29 that Langley will be acquiring six additional Raptors from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.