The F-22 Combined Test Force at Edwards AFB, Calif., has completed another first by flying an F-22 Raptor armed with the newest—as yet unfielded—AIM-120D Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile. The Edwards crew was checking noise and vibration effects on the missile. The AMRAAM is still under development at Eglin AFB, Fla. The Raptor CTF is helping Eglin develop the weapon, said Capt. Jason Armstrong, a 411th Flight Test Squadron armament engineer. The new D model of the missile has a newer navigation system that could react differently to “vibro-accoustics,” so test engineers are checking in actual flight the modeling and assumptions generated by missile-maker Raytheon.
The Sentinel Launch Support System, the digital backbone for testing the new intercontinental ballistic missile over its expected 50-year life, has completed critical design review, Northrop Grumman said Oct. 20.
