Warzone/The Drive: 24 F-22 Raptors Do The "Elephant Walk" In Alaska To Tout Their Readiness To Fight (Updated)
Roughly 20 percent of the Air Force's entire combat coded F-22 fleet was on a single runway at one time for a massive show of force drill.
As the USAF realigns its strategy towards "great power competition" with potential peer state enemies like Russia and China, high-profile displays of readiness among its combat aircraft fleets are becoming far more common than they were in the past. This time around, 3rd Wing based at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, Alaska showed off its might by concurrently generating a whopping 24 stealthy F-22 Raptors, an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning And Control System aircraft, and a C-17 Globemaster III cargo jet—all of which call the base home.
24 hours a day and 365 days a year, within a matter of minutes from when the klaxon sounds, a pair of fully armed and tanked-up F-22s can be scrambled into the air and race towards potential threats operating near U.S. airspace. Often times, a fully crewed E-3 follows right behind them. This happens far more often than most realize in an age of resurgent Russian long-range aviation forces. Russian strategic bombers, tankers, early warning and spy aircraft, and even escorting fighters are common visitors to the airspace off Alaska's frigid shores.
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WNU Editor: That is something that you do not see everyday.
