By all accounts, the F/A-22 fighter breezed through four-and-a-half months of exacting tests-its toughest yet. The Raptor demonstrated that it can handily beat today's best fighters flown by today's best crews. The Air Force has classified the results of the F/A-22's initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E), conducted at Nellis AFB, Nev., from late April through mid-September. However, USAF officials said nothing in the testing suggests the aircraft won't perform any way other than brilliantly in real-world combat. Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force Chief of Staff, told Inside the Air Force in August that the IOT&E phase was progressing "with fewer lumps and bumps than I ever thought it would." He added, "We're very, very pleased with what we've seen so far." Air Force officials said the service probably would this fall provide an unclassified synopsis of the test results, after USAF completes all analysis.
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