F-22 crews from JB Langley-Eustis, Va., are taking advantage of their deployment to the western Pacific to conduct integrated training with F-15s based at Kadena AB, Japan, according to Kadena officials. The Raptor deployment enables “outstanding fourth and fifth generation fighter integration training,” said Col. Pete Milohnic, Kadena’s 18th Operations Group commander, in the base’s Oct. 11 release. F-22s assigned to Langley’s 27th Fighter Squadron deployed to Kadena in late July as part of a routine rotation of US combat forces to the region. “We loved the opportunity to work with the F-15s,” stressed Lt. Col. Cavan Craddock, 27th FS commander. “It’s valid training that we wouldn’t get at home,” he added. In addition, “it sends a clear message that the US is serious about maintaining security and stability in the region,” he noted. A contingent of F-22s from JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, is also currently deployed to the western Pacific at Andersen AFB, Guam. (Kadena report by A1C Brooke Beers)
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.