The F-22 Raptor’s software is so complex that the updates are tested on this curious modified Boeing 757

Throughout its history, the Boeing 757 It has had multiple variants. Among them we find the Boeing 757-200which is 47.3 meters long and can carry around 200 passengers, and the Boeing C-32adapted specifically for the United States Air Force. However, none is as special as the one we will see below.

We are talking about F-22 Flying Test Bed. Both its appearance and its name suggest what this plane is about, but the details are more than interesting. It is a Boeing 757 that was adapted to become a test bed for the F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter designed in the 1980s, amid the tensions of the Cold War.

A quite particular Boeing 757

Now, we are not talking about just any Boeing 757, but rather the first one built by Boeing. This prototype came out of the renton factory (where the Boeing 737 MAX) in January 1982 to embark on a series of periodic tests before the production units of the model will begin to be delivered to the airlines.

After fulfilling its initial purpose, this aircraft whose registration is N757A became a key part of the development of the F-22 Raptor. The innovations that the fighter would include were unprecedented in the aviation industry, mainly in terms of avionics and integrated software, where more than a million lines of code would coexist.

To allow a first approach to these innovations and resolve problems early, Boeing adopted a scheme where the systems would be tested both on the ground, at the Avionics Integration Laboratory (AIL), and in the air, at Flying Test Bench (FTB). And they had the ideal plane for this last function, the first Boeing 757.

As we can see in the images, the N757A changed radically. The plane now has an F-22 Raptor nose that hides a radar AN/APG-77 active electronic scanning (AESA). The top of the flight deck is home to a large, flat structure that houses the electrical support system antennas AN/ALR-94 of the fighter plane.

The interior of the modified 757 has an F-22 simulation cockpit with its corresponding screens and controls. There are also several stations that allow them to work up to 30 engineers and technicians. The idea, as we say, is to evaluate the preliminary systems with the greatest possible realism.

One of the advantages of the F-22 Flying Test Bed is that the team can test multiple software configurations in one test flight. The evaluations are carried out in real time and, very importantly, are not limited by the reduced flight range of combat aircraft, which is why they can last for about seven hours.

Although the F-22 Raptor stopped production in 2011, the Air Force is interested in keeping this fifth-generation fighter updated. For this reason, the Boeing 757 “Catfish” continues to fulfill its mission. It frequently flies to Edwards Air Force Base in California, where it conducts combined testing with F-22 Raptors in flight service.

Images | Clemens Vasters (CC BY 2.0) | Geoff271989 (CC BY 2.0) | US Air Force photo by Ethan Wagner | Chad Bellay/Lockheed Martin

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