F-22 Raptors park on the runway at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Oct. 24, 2018. Since the Air Combat Command mobilized multiple relief assets, maintainers and crew chiefs have worked around the clock to ensure the Raptors are operational. US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Lotz
Michael Peck, National Interest: 186 Air Force F-22 Raptors Isn't Enough. And a Hurricane Just Proved Why.
And there is no easy way to fix it.
Sometimes you need a strong wind to lay bare the consequences of folly.
Hurricane Michael did more than devastate the Southeast coast, including Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, home of a squadron of F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, and center of F-22 training. It also showed that when you only buy 187 of an aircraft, it doesn't take much to shrink your force.
As many as seventeen Raptors —almost 10 percent of the fleet—might have been damaged by Hurricane Michael. These were aircraft that could not be evacuated because they were unfit to fly, a major problem for the F-22, which has suffered from low availability rates.
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WNU Editor: Money can go only so far.
