page_title: James E. Brown III
section_title: F-22 Raptor
hierarchical_section_title: James E. Brown III / Civilian career / F-22 Raptor
caption_attribution_description: Lockheed Martin test pilot Jim Brown of the F/A-22 Combined Test Force at the controls of Raptor 4007 successfully launches a guided AIM-9 Sidewinder short range missile over White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, Nov. 22, 2002.
context_page_description: James E. Brown III is an aerospace executive, test pilot instructor, and former United States Air Force officer. As of 2019, he is the vice president, chief operating officer, and test pilot instructor at the National Test Pilot School located in Mojave, California.
  Previously, Brown was the chief of flight operations for the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. Before that, he was the chief test pilot for the F-22 Raptor program stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California where he performed activities including avionics testing, flight envelope expansion, and the creation of procedural flight manuals for the Air Force. Before that, he was the chief test pilot for the F-117 Nighthawk. Brown is a Fellow and past president of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
context_section_description: In 2002, after eight years with F-117 program, Brown transferred to the F-22 Raptor. In this new role, he evaluated updated versions of the avionics software and improved the pilot-vehicle interface. On November 22, 2002, Brown flew the mission that completed all Pentagon-mandated flight test goals needed to start the next phase of the program. On this mission, Brown fired an AIM-9M Sidewinder missile at a supersonic QF-4 unmanned drone flying several miles directly ahead of the F-22. The unarmed missile passed close enough to the target to be assessed a lethal hit, satisfying the criteria needed to start the Dedicated Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (DIOTE) phase the following year.
  Brown has successfully dealt with many F-22 emergencies including a fuel leak at 30,000 feet while traveling at nearly the speed of sound. On another flight, a mechanical problem affected one of the two jet engines shortly after take off. Aware of a similar situation that resulted in the loss of an F-117, Brown idled the ailing engine rather than shut it down. The second engine began losing power during the landing approach. Brown's unconventional technique to handling the initial problem allowed him to narrowly avoid a much more serious situation.
  In 2006, Brown was the lead test pilot for the F-22 Raptor program at Edwards Air Force Base. By 2008, Brown had logged over 7,600 flight hours in 124 different types of aircraft. In July 2011, Brown was promoted to Chief Test Pilot of the F-22 Raptor program for Lockheed Martin. In 2012, he became the first test pilot to reach 1,000 flight hours in the F-22. Including his hours in the F-117, Brown had more flight time in stealth jets than any other pilot in the world.
caption: Flying Raptor 4007, JB Brown launches an AIM-9 missile
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