The 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall AFB, Fla., recently concluded a two phase exercise at the base to simulate a week-long deployment and employment of F-22 Raptors. Over 500 personnel, including planners, maintainers, and inspectors, participated in the event which ran from Aug. 11-15. Phase one of the exercise tested the wing’s ability to deploy combat aircraft quickly, including the 95th FS— the base’s first combat coded F-22 squadron, which achieved initial operational capability in April this year. During the second phase, 95th FS F-22s were tested in simulated combat, as if they were flying from a deployed location, with some 64 sorties planned over three days, even simulating base alarms as though the installation was under a deployed threat. The exercise marks the first time Tyndall has simulated a deployed location, and saw the base process more cargo, people, and aircraft for a deployment than in any previous effort, said Lt. Col. Jeremy Durtschi, the 325th FW inspector general. “This exercise focused on projecting combat air power,” said Frank LaBroad, the 325th FW exercises plans chief. (Tyndall release)
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.