Hecker and fellow Raptor pilots—on the first day many of them had ever launched weapons from an F/A-22 for an air-to-ground sortie—not only hit their targets, they “shacked” them, said weapons systems evaluators at Hill AFB, Utah. The term means the bomb struck the target dead center—a bull’s eye. “What we saw today was an outstanding display of training and technology,” said Col. Doug Reed, commander of the 388th Range Squadron at Hill.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.