GenCorp’s subsidiary Aerojet has supplied the last F-22 Raptor forward boom to Boeing for delivery to the US Air Force.

The forward boom is a structural component, which provides wing, engine and horizontal tail attach points to carry much of the F-22 aft fuselage load.

Aerojet uses the EB weld process to join titanium components together into a single monolithic structure to meet the precise tolerances.

The EB welding process allows the airframe design to merge complex features into a single component, reducing the need for fasteners whilst also reducing weight, simplifying assembly and reducing costs.

The delivery completed the 10th lot of a procurement, which spanned 17 years in support of the Boeing/Lockheed Martin/US Air Force team.