A contingent of airmen and F-22s from the 1st Fighter Wing at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., deployed to Kadena AB, Japan, as part of a normal rotation of US combat forces to the Pacific, announced Pacific Air Forces officials. The F-22s arrived at Kadena on July 27, states PACAF’s July 29 release. “The F-22 deployment to Kadena is in support of US Pacific Command’s security obligations in the Western Pacific, and the deployed unit will perform training under the direction of the 18th Wing at Kadena,” states the release. Normally, these deployments last about four months. Pentagon Press Secretary George Little last week first announced the upcoming deployment. Little said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had authorized it after Air Force officials told him they’ve likely identified the reason why some Raptor pilots have experienced disorientation and dizziness in flight and were implementing a plan to resolve the issue in phases. As a safety precaution, the Raptors flew to Japan under altitude restrictions and kept close to usable runways along the route.
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…