Edwards AFB News

  • F-22 Flying Test Bed is tip of the spear for Raptor mission systems

    From time to time, the F-22 Raptor Combined Test Force at the 411th Flight Test Squadron gets a visit from an old friend. A highly modified and instrumented Boeing 757 called the F-22 Flying Test Bed is an F-22 avionics laboratory. The experimental FTB is the very first Boeing 757 ever produced and

  • F-22 loaders prevail in Load Crew of the Quarter competition

    At the King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia, 1991, an A-10 "Warthog" performs a high speed taxi as it returns to its parking spot, fuel and munitions expended in combat.As the aircraft receives fuel, the weapons load crew rushes to load munitions for the threat that still exists. Within

  • F-22 pilot reaches 1,000 flight hours

    Four-year-old Steve Rainey sat on the hood of his father's car at a local airshow watching the small airplanes and helicopters at the airport. When the Thunderbirds in their F-100s sped by, Rainey fell off the car, looked up at the sky and thought, "I've got to do that."Jan. 22, the now chief test

  • F-22 Raptor flown on synthetic biofuel

    An F-22 Raptor successfully flew at supercruise March 18 on a 50/50 fuel blend of conventional petroleum-based JP-8 and biofuel derived from camelina, a weed-like plant not used for food.The flight was the capstone of a series of ground and flight test events conducted by the 411th Flight Test

  • F-22 Raptor performs first supersonic SDB drop

    On July 11, the 411th Flight Test Squadron passed a milestone as an F-22 Raptor travelling at supersonic speed dropped a GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb for the first time. The first supersonic SDB drop was part of a safe separation test currently being performed to integrate the bomb with the F-22. The

  • F-22 Raptor team receives AFMC award

    The F-22 Raptor Increment 3.1 Modification Team with the 412th Test Wing recently received the opportunity to represent the Air Force Materiel Command in the Air Force for the Chief of Staff Team Excellence Award. The award recognizes teams, which used a systematic approach to enhance mission

  • F-22 test squadron recognizes decorated squadron member, Vietnam hero

    Base leaders will always attest to the fact that people are what make Edwards a unique place to work. Not only do these people bring their work experience, professionalism and knowledge, but they often bring years of historic accounts with them as well, which is not often known by many.For one range

  • F-22 weapons loaders win first-quarter competition

    The F-22 weapons load crew edged out the Joint Strike Fighter crew to win the first quarter 2011 Weapons Load Competition held April 4 near Hangar 1600.The friendly competition kicked off at about 8 a.m. with a uniform inspection, followed by a written exam to test the loaders' basic knowledge of

  • F-22A crash claims life of Edwards pilot

    An Air Force F-22A crash today claimed the life of a USAF veteran and Lockheed Martin test pilot. David Cooley, 49, of Palmdale, Calif., died when the F-22A he was piloting crashed northeast of Edwards AFB. Cooley worked as a test pilot with Lockheed Martin, and was employed at the 411th Flight Test