Langley unit receive its first Raptors    

by Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher
1st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

3/3/2006 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) -- After two-and-a-half months of waiting, an aircraft with a 94th Fighter Squadron emblem has once again landed at Langley Air Force Base.

But this time, the emblems were painted on the sides of two F-22A Raptors.

Lt. Col. Dirk Smith, 94th Fighter Squadron commander, and Maj. Kevin Dolata, 94th FS, flew two of the advanced aircraft from the Lockheed Martin production facility in Marietta, Ga.

The 94th is the second fighter squadron to receive the Raptor. Since the squadron officially converted from the F-15C Eagle in December, 4062 and 4063 are the first Raptors to be permanently assigned to the squadron. 94th FS pilots and maintainers had been working with aircraft and personnel from the 27th Fighter Squadron.

“The 27th has allowed us to pile on their operations,” Colonel Smith said. “But it’s good to finally have some of our own iron on the ramp.”

The Airmen of the 94th have spent the last two months preparing for the new arrivals.

“It’s a lot like retooling a factory,” he said. “Much of our equipment is common, but some of it isn’t. We’ve been preparing for months.”

Staff Sgt. Aaron Cowan, 94th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-22A crew chief, is the first squadron crew chief to be assigned one of the new aircraft.

“I’m proud of my airplane,” he said. “It gives me pride to know my name’s on the jet and I’m responsible for maintaining it.”

Sergeant Cowan, who has been a crew chief in the 94th for eight years, said working with the 27th's Raptors has given him a new appreciation for the F-22A.

“It’s easier to work on than the F-15,” he said. “Its computer isolates a lot of its own problems. It’s very crew chief friendly.”

The 94th has five trained F-22A pilots and two aircraft, with more Raptors arriving at a rate of two per month.

Colonel Smith said his goal is to get the Air Force’s newest Raptor squadron ready for combat as soon as possible.

“Our goal is to be ready for an AEF rotation by May 2007,” he said.





March 3, 2006, 4:25PM
Lockheed Martin Delivers F-22 Raptor to Second Operational Squadron

MARIETTA, Ga., March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The 94th Fighter Squadron, famous for its historic "Hat in the Ring" insignia and legendary aviator Eddy Rickenbacker, began receiving F-22 Raptors from Lockheed Martin today. The two 5th Generation stealthy, air dominance fighters are assigned to the second operational squadron in the U.S. Air Force.



The two Raptors will join F-22s flying today as part of the 1st Fighter Wing's 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va. Lockheed Martin has completed final assembly on 71 of the 107 fighters now on contract, and 63 have been delivered.

"This is another great milestone in the history of the F-22 Program," said Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President and F-22 Program General Manager. "The F-22 will dominate airspace anywhere around the globe, around the clock, and survive in contested airspace better than any other aircraft in the world.

"Today's deliveries speak to the continued success of the program," Lawson added, "which includes a key milestone we surpassed in January by meeting our Congressional commitment to deliver 37 F-22 Raptors to the U.S. Air Force in an 18 month period."

The Air Force declared initial operational capability for the Raptor in December, and it is already flying operational missions in support of homeland defense. "We are proud to build such a sophisticated, 5th Generation stealth fighter that can do things better than we ever imagined," Lawson said.

"Today is a great day in the history of the 94th Fighter Squadron," said Lt. Col. Dirk Smith, 94th FS Commander. "It's good to have some of our own iron on the ramp."

The 94th FS legacy of being a frontline fighter unit spans from World War I to operations in the Persian Gulf Region. This unit has been a key player in the fight to gain and maintain air superiority.

The F-22 dominates any adversary through unmatched performance achieved through stealth, supercruise speed, agility, precision and a complete view of the battlespace achieved with the advanced sensor suite embedded in the aircraft. The Raptor will enable combat commanders to change the way wars are fought over the next 40 years.

In addition to the active air force, pilots with the 192nd Virginia Air National Guard in Richmond are also flying F-22 Raptors. The F-22 Raptor is currently flying at three other bases across the United States:

Testing is conducted at Edwards AFB, Calif.
Tactics development is ongoing at Nellis AFB, Nev.
A full squadron of Raptors is based at Tyndall AFB, Fla., for pilot and maintainer training.

Wow, are things suddenly ACCELERATING in this program, or is it just me?

After 15 years of nothing, suddenly these aircraft seem to be available very very fast.

Quoted: Wow, are things suddenly ACCELERATING in this program, or is it just me? After 15 years of nothing, suddenly these aircraft seem to be available very very fast.

Things have not been accelerated, the -22 was cleared to go into low rate production a couple of years ago and since then they have been delivered at the rate of two a month.


And in other F-22 news.


Air Force announces preferred F-22A locations

3/1/2006 - WASHINGTON, D.C. (AFPN) -- The Air Force's preferred alternatives for the third and fourth operational F-22A beddowns are Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., and Hickam AFB, Hawaii, said Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, today .

“Although we must still complete the environmental analyses required under the National Environmental Policy Act before finalizing our decisions, the preferred third and fourth beddown locations for the F-22A are Holloman Air Force Base and Hickam Air Force Base,” General Moseley said.

The proposed plan is for these units to have active and National Guard personnel at both locations. As the Air Force moves forward with this next generation fighter, combining forces to leverage assets gives the service its best possible team to deliver sovereign options for the nation's defense in the global war on terrorism.

The F-22A program of record calls for 183 aircraft with production slated through 2012. Currently the F-22A is based at Langley AFB, Va. Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, was previously announced as the preferred location for the second operational beddown.




27 more days to go until I'm done with lawn darts and go back to crewing -22s at Tyndall.    

And this thread is worthless without pictures.

i clearly remember when they were testing the YF-22 against the YF-23  in 1990-91
i think they're referring to the F-22 as the F/A-22A now.
it's hard to believe the F-15 entered service in 1975 . . now the F-22 will be filling its shoes

There's got to be a way to get more than 183 '22s in service.

Quoted: i clearly remember when they were testing the YF-22 against the YF-23  in 1990-91 i think they're referring to the F-22 as the F/A-22A now. it's hard to believe the F-15 entered service in 1975 . . now the F-22 will be filling its shoes

To bad they didn't make both of them.
I love the YF-23.

Excellent!!!!!!!!!!

Quoted: There's got to be a way to get more than 183 '22s in service.

War with China?

That's about what it would take...

Like the B-2, expensive-but-worth-it will sell pilots & generals who used to be pilots, along with anyone else who's personal safety hinges on the AF's ability to make the other side stop flying...

Politicians just see dollar signs & reach for the knife....

OTOH, I'd rather see 183 high-end expensive planes than 300+ economy models....  Ditto for tanks, and any other serious military hardware... Problem is, Congress is more interested in 'Fast, cheap, & plentiful' than 'Good, survivable, effective'..... Air Force doesn't play along, and they get their whiz-bang-everything-and-the-kitchen-sink projects reduced... Army does (FCS, Stryker), and the end result is shitty equipment that will have serious issues if we ever fight an enemy armed with something more than cold-war reject assault rifles & rocket launchers...

Langley is a very nice base, as a boy scout once got a tour of the place (can remember seeing an F-117 in a hanger through some binoculars from inside the control tower, it was the closest I had ever been to one (still it was damn far away, but considering it was quite some time ago it was pretty close) and thought it was damn cool)

Cant wait till they've been deployed at Elmendorf

I love seeing eagles fly around when I am downtown.  Great view.  Cannot wait to see the raptors.

I thought retireing the F-117 early was going to buy more F/A-22's?

Every time a new Raptor rolls off of the production line another 30 Mission Support junior officers get "force shaped" out of the AF.

Quoted: Every time a new Raptor rolls off of the production line another 30 Mission Support junior officers get "force shaped" out of the AF.

You mean 30 self-loading ballast weights don't you.  

Quoted: Quoted: Every time a new Raptor rolls off of the production line another 30 Mission Support junior officers get "force shaped" out of the AF. You mean 30 self-loading ballast weights don't you.

As a prior enlisted type I'm actually impressed by the dedication most of my fellow Lts have to the mission.  I think we both know that the real reason for the cuts is that the AF overcompensated back in 2000.  Interestingly enough the accessions from that year aren't subject to force shaping.  Just wait to see the promotion rates for O-4 for that year group, it won't be near what it is now.

You don't see pilots getting force shaped out despite the over manning.  More of the fighter pilot mafia.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Every time a new Raptor rolls off of the production line another 30 Mission Support junior officers get "force shaped" out of the AF. You mean 30 self-loading ballast weights don't you.   As a prior enlisted type I'm actually impressed by the dedication most of my fellow Lts have to the mission.  I think we both know that the real reason for the cuts is that the AF overcompensated back in 2000.  Interestingly enough the accessions from that year aren't subject to force shaping.  Just wait to see the promotion rates for O-4 for that year group, it won't be near what it is now. You don't see pilots getting force shaped out despite the over manning.  More of the fighter pilot mafia.

Watch in a few years the AF will realize that they have gotten rid of to many people (both officer and enlisted) and will be begging people to stay in.

Quoted: Every time a new Raptor rolls off of the production line another 30 Mission Support junior officers get "force shaped" out of the AF.

Sounds like a hell of a deal to me  

What is the expected total of Raptor squadrons?

Quoted: I thought retireing the F-117 early was going to buy more F/A-22's?

We could only hope so.

Quoted: i think they're referring to the F-22 as the F/A-22A now.

Nope, it was switched back to F-22A several months ago. Not a pound for air to ground.

Is it just me or does these Raptors look like Spads...


I'm digging that USAF "Retro" look uniforms..

Quoted: Quoted: i think they're referring to the F-22 as the F/A-22A now. Nope, it was switched back to F-22A several months ago. Not a pound for air to ground.

Actually it can carry 2000 lbs of air-to-ground stuff.  The "Not a pound for air to ground" was the F-15 saying.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: i think they're referring to the F-22 as the F/A-22A now. Nope, it was switched back to F-22A several months ago. Not a pound for air to ground. Actually it can carry 2000 lbs of air-to-ground stuff.  The "Not a pound for air to ground" was the F-15 saying.   img117.imageshack.us/img117/4430/050725f0000s006custom8sg0ha.jpg

Thus the smilie.

Quoted: The F/A18E Super Hornet would kick it's ass...

That's why the USAF only flies F-15s against it. They're scared of the SuperBug!

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: i think they're referring to the F-22 as the F/A-22A now. Nope, it was switched back to F-22A several months ago. Not a pound for air to ground. Actually it can carry 2000 lbs of air-to-ground stuff.  The "Not a pound for air to ground" was the F-15 saying.   img117.imageshack.us/img117/4430/050725f0000s006custom8sg0ha.jpg Thus the smilie.

Had me fooled

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: i think they're referring to the F-22 as the F/A-22A now. Nope, it was switched back to F-22A several months ago. Not a pound for air to ground. Actually it can carry 2000 lbs of air-to-ground stuff.  The "Not a pound for air to ground" was the F-15 saying.   img117.imageshack.us/img117/4430/050725f0000s006custom8sg0ha.jpg Thus the smilie. Had me fooled

The F-15 and F-14 were developed with air-to-air in mind. The ATF was developed with A2A in mind as well. All three were adapted later for A2G use. Just labeling an aircraft F/A doesn't change the original design.

The "not a pound for air to ground" was a stick in the eye of the fighter mafia who would be out of a job, as of late, if it weren't for the A2G role. The removal of the "A" designator was to help save the F-35 and, I'm sure, to assuage the ego of the fighter mafia.

Quoted:

I knew I had seen that somewhere before.

Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI

Quoted: I knew I had seen that somewhere before. Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI

You mean like the "other" picture I posted?

Quoted: Quoted: I knew I had seen that somewhere before. Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI You mean like the "other" picture I posted? www.acepilots.com/wwi/94th_spad13.jpg

clear your cache - doesn't show up on mine unless i view it on it's native server first.

Quoted: Quoted: I knew I had seen that somewhere before. Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI You mean like the "other" picture I posted? www.acepilots.com/wwi/94th_spad13.jpg

Yeah, I'm getting nothing with that pic.

Better?  

Raptors are so cool.

Quoted: Better?   www.vaq34.com/94th_spad13.jpg

Much better.