LANGLEY AFB, VA. –
The news here isn't that the F-22A Raptor went out of town and participated in exercises this summer. Critics and fans alike have heard that by now.
What they haven't heard: the facts and figures produced during the training.
"We took the jets and our people more than 3,200 miles from their support structure at home," said Lt. Col. Wade Tolliver, 27th FS commander. "Yet the very next day we had those same jets up and flying."
That was just the first day.
"Over the next few weeks, we were able to engage in some of the best training I've seen in my 17-year Air Force career," Colonel Tolliver said. "We showed that the Raptor can be an immediate contributor across a large spectrum of military missions," he said.
Notable numbers
During a 6-week stay in Alaska, the 27th FS engaged in its first-ever, full-length exercise with the F-22, Northern Edge. In the first exercise week, while flying in joint teams with F-15 Eagles and F/A-18 Hornets, the Raptor was able to produce a whopping 144-to-0 kill ratio.
In the majority of missions, Raptors consisted of just one-quarter to one-third of the defending force, yet F-22s destroyed more than half of the enemy targets.
"With our unique capability to see the battle space, we were able to stay in the fight, contributing to the entire package," said Col. Tolliver.
During one engagement, a team of just eight Raptors and 21 Eagles killed 83 adversary aircraft.
"In another exercise engagement we saw some of the most challenging training scenarios to date for the F-22," Colonel Tolliver said. "Yet, the Raptor's enabled us to destroy more than 60 percent of the targets, with zero losses."
Bombs away all day
Better still, the Raptor's influence was witnessed by those on the ground.
More than 60 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (1,000-pound bombs) were dropped by Raptor pilots this summer; each punished the targets below hitting within six meters or less of the intended bull's-eyes. 26 bombs were dropped during Close Air Support exercises using a forward air controller, another first-attempt and complete success for the F-22.
Not to be outdone, the 94th FS took to the skies over Hill AFB in Utah and accomplished the first supersonic bomb drops for the F-22.
"Until then, no operational F-22 had ever done that," explained Lt. Col. Michael Hoepfner, 94th Fighter Squadron director of operations. "No other aircraft can get up to 1.5 mach at 50,000 feet and deliver a JDAM."
It's kinematics as it's best: Faster plane = faster bomb. Faster bomb = more dead targets.
"We also engaged in a scenario escorting two B-2s into a heavily defended anti-access environment," said Colonel Tolliver. "All of the targets were completely destroyed, and we lost zero blue forces."
Anti-access environments, guarded by sophisticated surface-to-air missile sites and advanced aircraft, are an emerging threat that tests the capabilities of American's current jets.
"With the Raptor's stealth and advanced maneuvering, we have the ability to move freely in those integrated defense areas where our legacy fighters couldn't," said Colonel Tolliver.
Superior synergy
Weapons aside, just having the Raptor in the air proved to be a valuable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance asset many of the joint exercise partners weren't expecting.
"For example, we were able to supplement AWACS information, telling the other players if they were double-targeting an enemy, and we were able to warn some crews about threats they hadn't even seen yet," said Brig. Gen. Burt Field, 1st Fighter Wing commander.
The Raptor helps make the entire team more effective, and that is not lost on anyone who flies with it or against it, he said.
"We are seeing more and more opportunities where we can be a value-added asset to any military engagement," General Field said. "No matter the threat, the Raptor's capabilities benefit any joint team."
The F-22's reliability also impressed audiences this summer. Raptor maintenance and flying teams produced a 97 percent mission-effectiveness rate during exercise Northern Edge, flying 102 out of 105 tasked missions.
The 94th and 27th FS combined for an unprecedented 854 sorties during two months of travel, gaining an additional 1,000 flight hours for its pilots.
"The Raptor team is ready to deploy now," said Colonel Tolliver. "We have the training and the experience to contribute to any situation that the combatant commanders see fit," Colonel Tolliver said.
Some say there's no place like home, but this summer Langley Airmen proved to many critics that any base can be a fruitful nest for the F-22 Raptor, and any target has less than 144-0 chance of survival.