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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 2770.PDF
NEWS ANALYSIS The YF-22 is almost identical i LOCK STRES in size to the F-15, says Skunk Worhs president Ben Rich (inset) LOCKHEED'S ATF STRESSES AGILITY Winning the US Air Force Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition is not make or break for Lock heed, says chairman Dan Tellep, but the company has no inten tion of losing to Northrop whose competing YF-23 proto type flew two days before Lock- -heed's YF-22 was publicly un veiled (Flight International, 5-11 September, P34). "We took a little longer be cause we wanted to make sure the [prototype] aircraft is as close to the production [F-22] as possible," says Ben Rich, president of Lockheed's "Skunk Works", where the ATF proto types were assembled from sec tions built by F-22 team- members Lockheed, Boeing and General Dynamics. "If you look at the loft lines [external shape] of the proto type and production aircraft, you can't tell the difference," says Rich, who reveals that Lockheed's ATF design stresses high agility. The YF-22 has un limited angle-of-attack capabil ity: "The aircraft can fly at any attitude, unrestricted," empha sises Rich. The YF-22 is closer in size to the F-15 than Northrop's larger YF-23. Rich believes the com peting ATF prototype is op timised for supersonic speed while Lockheed has stressed subsonic qualities—stealth and manoeuvrability: "Theirs is an interceptor; ours is a fighter," he maintains. Rich points out that the YF-22 has four large tail surfaces where the YF-23 has only two. Additionally, the General Electric YF120-powered proto- "The YF-22 has unlimited angle-of- attack capability: 'The aircraft can fly at any attitude, unrestricted,' emphasises Rich." S^HBHilHBa^MMtlltlill type has thrust vectoring, which further increases agility, al though it is not essential to the design and could be sacrificed to keep costs down. The YF-22 can cruise supersonically with out requiring afterburner, which Rich suggests is impor tant for range and for stealth. Design of a stealth aircraft is greatly assisted by fly-by-wire: "You can design any shape and- make it fly—1 could make the Statue of Liberty fly," jokes Rich. Fly-by-wire is an essential element of Lockheed's F-117A stealth fighter — "a flying vor tex generator", says the Skunk Works chief — conferring re putedly excellent handling qual ities on an aircraft that is un- flyable manually because of the shaping required for stealth. The YF-22 is more conven tional looking than the F-117 but Lockheed denies than its ATF design is any less stealthy than Northrop's, although the YF-22 has more edges than the smoothly blended YF-23. Chair man Tellep claims the YF-22 is ^ at least a stealthy head-on as the YF-23 while Rich says it is matter of balancing signature reduction (radar, infra-red, con trail, smoke, visiblity and noise) with agility — and cost. Affordability is a major issue, says Rich, as cost overruns in development and production are typically eclipsed by those incurred operating an aircraft. Lockheed's design has been driven by the need for reliability and maintainability, he says. Differences in the production aircraft will be in structural materials — to reduce weight —and in avionics. Rich says that prototype avionics for the F-22 have "worked mar vellously" in Boeing's 757 flying testbed. He singles out the Hughes-developed processor at the heart of ATF's modular avi onics for special praise. Rich reveals that the Air Force's "wish list" of avionics originally accounted for $15 million of the ATF's $35 million target price but the avionics content has been trimmed to around $8 million—deleting items such as the infra-red wmmmmammmmtmmmm "ATF full-scale development will he performed under a 'cost-plus award fee' contract, says Lockheed chairman Dan Tellep." search and track sensor. The F-22 team's bid for the ATF full-scale development contract, scheduled for award in 46 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12 - 18 September 1990
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