(July. 21 1999) --The F-22 demonstrated today the ability to supercruise at sustained speeds well above Mach 1.5 without afterburner. This demonstration highlighted one of the advanced capabilities of the F-22.

When referring to the F-22 Raptor, supercruise is defined as the ability to sustain airspeeds above Mach 1.5 in combat configuration for long periods of time. Once the F-22 becomes operational, it will fly a great amount of its combat missions in supercruise which will vastly contribute to the USAF's air dominance.

"Sustaining the target Mach was not difficult for the Raptor," said Col. C.D. Moore, Combined Test Force commander, at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. "The difficulty was keeping the Raptor from going faster than the target speed. Yesterday the airplane demonstrated that it can achieve awesome speed, flying above 1.5 Mach at a low power setting, for a sustained period of time. No other fighter in the world can do that."

The Raptor 01 with it's powerful Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engines were able to achieve Mach 1.5 during the two hour training flight over Edwards AFB Calif.

"Its ability to supercruise will allow the F-22 larger patrol areas, and permit the Raptor to enter and exit hostile areas in quick fashion, reducing the time a pilot spends over an enemy's territory," he said. "The capabilities of an F-22 aircraft will be a great benefit to our war fighters."

Lockheed Martin's F-22 program general manager, Bob Reardon hailed the achievement as another in a series of test milestones achieved ahead of time.

"The Raptor continues to surpass our expectations," said Rearden. "Supercruising in less than 275 flight hours and reaching an altitude of 50,000 feet a full year ahead of schedule validates the maturity of the F-22 at this early stage of flight test, and confirms that the Raptor is fundamentally different from fighters previously developed. The Raptor's maturity at this stage of the flight test program is phenomenal." (Article courtesy US Air Force News)