F-22A Raptors roaming skies over Okinawa

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A crew chief walks around an F-22 Raptor at a squad bay on the flightline at Kadena Air Base on Thursday. The 27th Fighter Squadron, based at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, brought 12 Raptors to Kadena for training.


F-22A Raptors roaming skies over Okinawa
By Natasha Lee, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, February 3, 2009

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — Air Force F-22A Raptors are surreptitiously roaming the Pacific skies to train and provide security support to the Western Pacific.

Twelve of the stealthy fighters, assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron, arrived at Kadena Air Base from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia last month and will be deployed in Okinawa for about three months.

This is the second deployment for the squadron, which debuted the jets at Kadena in 2007.

Another dozen or so Raptors from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska are participating in a similar deployment rotation at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.

The goal this time around, said squadron commander Lt. Col. Lansing Pilch, is to focus on improving joint combat capabilities with Kadena’s fighter squadrons and Navy and Marine assets.


Rest of article about this $355 million dollar wonder at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60424