Eight U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, sit on the flightline at Yokota Air Base in Japan on July 9, 2018. U.S. Air Force photo by Yasuo Osakabe
Forbes: With F-22 Stealth Fighters Running Out, The U.S. Air Force Got Desperate
A hurricane that struck Florida in late 2018 damaged and displaced so many of the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor stealth fighters that the flying branch resorted to desperate measures to ensure it could fly enough F-22 sorties.
It underscores how few Raptors the Air Force possesses, and how fragile the fleet could be if it ever sustains major losses in wartime.
Hurricane Michael wreaked havoc on Florida’s Panhandle region in late October 2018. Wind and rain lashed Tyndall Air Force Base, uprooting trees, flattening buildings and ripping the roofs off of hangars.
Tyndall at the time was the F-22 training base. Prior to the storm, two Tyndall squadrons—the 43rd Fighter Squadron, a dedicated training unit, and the combat-coded 95th Fighter Squadron—together operated 55 of the Air Force’s 186 F-22s.
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WNU Editor: Every-time I read a story like this, I am always wondering why the Pentagon made the decision to stop production on what is probably the most powerful and effective fighter jet in the world today. Couldn't they have built a extra hundred or two? Apparently not.
