The US Air Force’s 71st Fighter Squadron has received its first two F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia.
The handover follows the delivery of the jets to Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida earlier this week.
F-22 Formal Training Unit
The acceptance is part of a program seeking to integrate 30 Raptors into the US Air Force’s F-22 Formal Training Unit (FTU).
The initiative ran at Tyndall and was temporarily relocated to Eglin due to damage from Hurricane Michael in 2018.
In 2021, the air force signed a Record of Decision to transfer the F-22 training operations to Joint Base Langley-Eustis.
“We’re bringing the training mission of the F-22 here,” 71st Fighter Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Andrew Gray stated.
“We’re going to train pilots, who just got their wings, how to employ the F-22 in our squadron, and then we’ll send them out to their combat units.
Two military construction projects are underway to support the newly-established F-22 FTU in Virginia.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held last year to build a low-observable composite repair site. A facility for combined maintenance and operations commenced earlier in February.
‘New Era’
According to the US Air Force, changes are expected despite the Langley base having combat training missions in the past.
“Langley has had training missions all throughout its history – going back 100 years,” Gray said.
“The arrival of these first two aircraft is the beginning of a new era, and we’re very excited,” 71st Fighter Generation Squadron’s Capt. Trent Amerson added.
“We still have a hard road ahead – with standing up the 71st squadrons, but we’re confident in the capability of our maintainers and expertise of our pilots in producing the most lethal F-22 pilots in the Air Force.”
