Make sure to explore the Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor and the Boeing Bird of Prey on your next visit to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force!The aircraft on display (S/N 91-4003) was one of nine F-22s built for Engineering, Manufacture and Development (EMD) testing, and it rolled off the Lockheed Martin assembly line in Georgia on May 22, 1999. Assigned to the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the aircraft made its first flight on March 6, 2000. After completing its phase in the test program, this aircraft came to the museum in January 2007. It is painted to represent an F-22A flown by the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Va. In its 38 flights, the Bird of Prey tested ways to make aircraft less observable to the eye and to radar. It also validated new ways to design and build aircraft using large single-piece composite structures, “virtual reality” computerized design and assembly, and disposable tooling. The Bird of Prey was revealed in 2002 because its design techniques had become standard practice — Boeing used them in its X-32 Joint Strike Fighter demonstrators and later in its X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle prototype.