F-22 Raptor News

August 11, 2000 (by Jeff Hollenbeck) - Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company, has delivered a critical component for the U.S. Air Force's F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter.
The company's F-22 Electronic Warfare (EW) team today delivered the Block 3 EW Operational Flight Program software to the Avionics Integration Lab (AIL) in Seattle, Wash., ahead of its Aug. 15 due date. The team also provided upgraded hardware to the AIL and the Boeing Flying Test Bed in preparation for the aircraft's flight certification testing.

Don Donovan, Sanders' Vice President and General Manager for F-22 and JSF Programs, said the delivery supports the F-22 Team testing required to obtain the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) decision expected by the Pentagon later this year. "The LRIP decision is crucial to the entire F-22 program and we are very pleased to have met this important milestone in support of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing Team. We set very high objectives for our Block 3 hardware and software systems in order to ensure we meet the LRIP decision criteria. We have met or exceeded all of those objectives with the content and quality of this product. I couldn't be more proud of our team," he said.

The Block 3 software, which completed extensive static and dynamic lab testing at Sanders' facilities in Nashua, N.H., is a significant portion of the overall Integrated Avionics software, scheduled to fly onboard the F-22 in December. The Sanders delivery represents approximately 15 percent of the Operational Flight Program software scheduled to fly on the F-22 fighter.

Bob Rearden, Lockheed Martin's Vice President for F-22 Programs, said, "The Sanders team has provided a comprehensive EW suite that is a critical element of the integrated avionics capability of the F-22. This integrated avionics capability will be a main focus of our flight testing which begins later this year with the flight of Block 3.0 software in the F-22. The EW system has been performing extremely well to date at the AIL and on the Flying Test Bed, and Sanders' Block 3 software will provide a significant increase in capabilities available for testing."

The Block 3 delivery also included countermeasures and missile launch detection hardware and software for the F-22. Sanders' EW suite is an integral part of the aircraft's advanced sensor suite which will enable Raptor pilots to achieve air dominance over any potential adversary well into the 21st century. In addition to its EW suite, Sanders has previously provided the fighter's airborne videotape recorders, Communication, Navigation and Identification (CNI) antennae, graphic processor video interface, operational debrief system, stores management and modules, and mission support software. The value of these Sanders products for the Raptor during the production and support programs could exceed $2 billion through the year 2013.

Sanders is an operating company of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, and a major producer of aircraft self-protection systems and tactical surveillance and intelligence systems for all branches of the armed forces. Other major business areas include microwave, mission and space electronics; infrared imaging; and automated mission planning systems.