Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Team Awarded Collier Trophy
June 13th, 2007
The Lockheed Martin led F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter team was awarded the 2006 Robert J. Collier Trophy in ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on June 8. The trophy, given annually by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), is regarded as the most prestigious award in American aviation.
“This award is a tribute to an incredible team of contractors, suppliers and leaders in the United States Congress, Department of Defense and Air Force, who never lost site of the vision for this aircraft,” said Ralph Heath, Executive Vice President-Aeronautics for Lockheed Martin Corporation. “Together, we pay tribute to the men and women who will take the Raptor into harm’s way to establish and maintain air dominance. It is for them we created the world’s first fifth-generation fighter.”
Honored contractor team members included Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and BAE Systems. The United States Air Force was also recognized and honored as a team member for the major role they played in the development of the F-22. Through their participation in flight tests, Air Force pilots have provided their expert, invaluable feedback to help the combined test force F-22 team create the safest, most capable fighter this nation has seen.
The NAA is the oldest national aviation organization in the United States dedicated to the advancement of the art, sport and science of aviation in the U.S. The Collier Trophy was established in 1911 and is granted each year “for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America during the preceding calendar year.”
NAA President and CEO David Ivey said the fighter’s performance has “established the unquestionable superiority of the Raptor, a culmination of years of visionary design, rigorous testing, and innovative manufacturing.”
The F-22 was specifically cited for its performance in the 2006 Northern Edge military exercise. During this large-scale, force-on-force exercise, Raptor pilots flew an amazing 97 percent of their scheduled missions, achieved an 80-to-1 kill ratio against their Red Air opponents, scored direct hits with 100 percent of their satellite guided 1,000-pound GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition air-to-ground weapons, and increased overall situational awareness for the entire Blue Force through the F-22’s integrated avionics.
“Joint and allied force commanders talk about the commanding presence of the F-22 and how the Raptor makes everyone in the battlespace better,” said Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Executive Vice President and F-22 Program General Manager Larry Lawson. “Pilots will tell you about the quantum leap in situational awareness the Raptor provides; and maintainers are amazed at how much easier it is to keep the F-22 in the air day in and day out in any environment. That is the level of performance and reliability the F-22 is delivering today.”
The F-22 Raptor, the world’s most advanced fighter, is built by Lockheed Martin in partnership with Boeing and Pratt & Whitney. Parts and subsystems are provided by approximately 1,000 suppliers in 44 US states. F-22 production takes place at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facilities in Marietta, Ga.; Fort Worth, Texas; Palmdale, Calif.; and Meridian, Miss., as well as at Boeing’s plant in Seattle, Wash. Final assembly and initial flight testing of the Raptor occurs in Marietta.
Lockheed Martin is the program’s principal systems integrator. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Marietta, Ga. is responsible for overseeing weapon system integration; the forward fuselage and cockpit; flight control surfaces; and the avionics architecture and functional design. The company’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, is responsible for the mid-fuselage; armament; providing the electronic warfare system, integrated communications, navigation and identification (CNI) system; stores management and inertial navigation systems; and the support system. The company’s Palmdale, Calif., site builds the Raptor’s low observable edges, antennas and radome.
Boeing builds the Raptor’s wings and aft fuselage; integrates and tests the advanced avionics; and is responsible for both pilot and maintenance training programs. Pratt & Whitney designed and manufactures the Raptor’s F119-PW-100 turbofan engine.
Northrop Grumman’s Electronic Systems designed and builds the Raptor’s AN/APG 77 radar system. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems is partnered with Northrop Grumman on the radar. BAE Systems Electronics & Integrated Solutions provides the electronic warfare suite, low observable CNI apertures, countermeasures, the stores management system and the mission planning system.
The award to the Raptor team marks the sixteenth time Lockheed Martin or its aircraft have been honored with the Collier Trophy. The first came in 1932 for the B-10, the first all-metal bomber. Other legacy Lockheed Martin Collier recipients include the XC 35, the world’s first pressurized aircraft; the F-104 Starfighter, the world’s first Mach 2 fighter; the Lockheed A-11 (A-12) “Blackbird” triple-sonic reconnaissance aircraft; the F-117 Nighthawk, the world’s first operational stealth fighter; and the U-2S Dragon Lady high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Lockheed Martin was a member of the integrated lift fan propulsion system validated on the X-35B, the Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator.
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