A new F-22 cleanroom will become fully operational at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, US this month, and is welcome news for combat-ready avionics parts which support the Air Force's F-22 Raptor.
The aircraft's features include not only sensor capability and weapons, but also situational awareness and integrated avionics.
The F-22 footprint at the base will be further extended due to the cleanroom's capabilities, which will provide testing and work on circuit boards used on the aircraft. These electronic components are critical pieces which allow information to be processed and transmitted on the aircraft.
'This is pretty exciting and another step forward in our F-22 workload,' said Major Wendy Enderle, 568th Electronics Maintenance Squadron Commander.
The cleanroom includes special heating, ventilation and air conditioning units at its entry to remove contaminants on people prior to their entry.
This will give us the ability to work on hybrid electronic components as well as surface mount technology
The Air Force is partnering with Lockheed Martin by including an F-22 depot partnering site in Georgia. Robins received its first workstation in 2009.
'This will give us the ability to work on hybrid electronic components as well as surface mount technology which will allow us to remove and replace standard components on circuit boards,' said Mark Davis, Lockheed's F-22 depot Site Manager.
Some of the work this month includes cleaning and re-installing the circuit boards ball grid array (BGA) – a type of surface-mount packaging used for integrated circuits.
BGA packages are used to mount devices such as microprocessors permanently.
New expanded capabilities benefit both the depot and the government by offering repairs in-house, said Davis.
