Newly assigned F-22 Raptors, the only twin-engine fifth generation fighter in service, were dedicated at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Oahu 9 July.
They are the first F-22s assigned to the 199th Fighter Squadron, 154th Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard, and replace the F-15s that have protected Hawaiian skies since 1987.
Production of the F-22, America's top air dominance aircraft, has been capped at 186 fighters. Meanwhile, the U.S. is retiring some 250 legacy fighters, aging F-15s and F-16s, and banking on adequate production of the multi-role F-35, a single-engine fifth generation aircraft.
Photo: The stealthy silhouette of an F-22 Raptor against the clouds over Hawaiian waters, 9 July. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech Sgt. Cohen A. Young)
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