A KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., refuels an F/A-22 Raptor. The Raptor is the replacement for the F-15 Eagle. It is the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world, combining a revolutionary leap in technology and capability with reduced support requirements...

A KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., refuels an F/A-22 Raptor. The Raptor is the replacement for the F-15 Eagle. It is the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world, combining a revolutionary leap in technology and capability with reduced support requirements...

A KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., refuels an F/A-22 Raptor. The Raptor is the replacement for the F-15 Eagle. It is the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world, combining a revolutionary leap in technology and capability with reduced support requirements...

On a rare rainy day in the Mojave Desert, the F/A-22 Combined Test Force puts Raptor 4001 through wet-runway testing at speeds of 30, 60 and 90 knots. [U.S. Air Force photo by Kevin Robertson]

Raptor 4001 undergoes wet-runway testing during a rare rainy day here at Edwards AFB in the Mojave Desert. The F/A-22 was tested at speeds of 30, 60 and 90 knots. This test is just one of thousands that the F/A-22 Combined Test Force is putting the Raptor through during the...

The application of advanced avionics software in the F/A-22 is key to the Raptor's revolutionary performance advantage over any other fighter. In the air-to-air arena, the stealthy F/A-22 will be virtually unseen on radar, while its sophisticated array of sensors and advanced...

F/A-22 Raptor 4001 flies over the Compass Rose at the Rodgers Dry Lakebed here. Advanced avionics technologies will allow F/A-22 sensors to gather, integrate and display essential data in the most useful format for future pilots. [U.S. Air Force photo by Judson Brohmer]

Tech. Sgt. Jeff Simpson guides Raptor number #01-4018 to its parking spot. Raptor 18 is the first operational F/A-22 Raptor delivered to the Air Force's F/A-22 schoolhouse here at Tyndall AFB, Florida. [USAF photo by Steve Wallace]

The first operational F/A-22 Raptor #01-4018 flies over Tyndall AFB on its delivery flight. Tyndall is home of the world's first F/A-22 squadron. [U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Mike Ammons]