The US Air Force (USAF) is developing a plan to restore low observability (LO) maintenance capacity for its Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor multirole fighter fleet, although this might be trickier than originally anticipated, according to a top officer.
The former home of the F-22 fleet, Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, was devastated by a hurricane in October 2018. The USAF, in preparation, dispersed F-22s to three different bases: Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. The service lost critical facilities in the hurricane, including the buildings that maintain the LO coatings on the aircraft that help the aircraft evade enemy radar detection.
The US Air Force is looking to restore the low observability maintenance capacity for its Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fleet, which was hurt by an October 2018 hurricane that hit Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. (Lockheed Martin)
Air Combat Command (ACC) chief General James Holmes said on 23 August at an Air Force Association (AFA) breakfast that the USAF prefers to host the F-22 Flying Training Unit (FTU), formerly of Tyndall Air Force Base, at Langley Air Force Base. Unfortunately, he said, the air force did not build enough LO maintenance facilities at Langley because it curtailed production in fiscal year 2009 (FY 2009). Langley Air Force Base, he said, was originally designed for three F-22 squadrons.
In the meantime, the USAF is using a contractor-owned facility in Georgia, and LO maintenance facilities at Tyndall Air Force Base are back in operation. Eglin Air Force Base, Gen Holmes said, is using Tyndall’s LO facilities for LO maintenance on its own F-22s.
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