In October, F-22A Raptors from Joint Base Langley-Eustis stopped off at RAF Lakenheath for a Fighter Training Detachment en route home from combat operations in the Middle East. Jamie Hunter caught up with the 1st Fighter Wing team as they completed their spell in the UK.
F-22 DEPLOYMENTS
”We flew one big VUL [vulnerability period], and this was the first exercise where we actually fought against the Typhoons in a long-range scenario.”
US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors seem to be permanently on the road these days. They’ve been deployed to the Middle East since 2009, mainly under the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW), where rotations in and out of Al Dhafra, United Arab Emirates, have provided a show of strength in the region – particularly related to Iran.
The squadrons have also played an important role in Operation Inherent Resolve, tackling so-called Islamic State (IS). The Raptors’ involvement in this mission stepped up a gear in the early hours of September 23, 2014 as the US and Arab nation allies struck at the heart of IS by attacking targets in its stronghold in Raqqa, Syria.
It became clear that for the Raptor it had been a significant event, marking the first time the F-22 had employed weapons in combat operations.
Ironically, despite being conceived as the USAF’s ultimate super-fighter, its kinetic combat debut came in the air-to-ground role – Raptor pilots are able to employ the 1,000lb GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) or the 250lb GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB).<…
