In a crisis the Air Force could conceivably get 98 of the jets in the air, upping the number of jets available on short notice to 33. Of these 63 jets, only a third would be ready to take off and fight on short notice. Thanks to poor readiness levels, just 52 percent of the 123 F-22s are available at any given time. The small number of combat-capable F-22s, coupled with a low availability rate, Forbes reports, means that only 21 of the jets are capable of fighting on a moment's notice. The aircraft that crashed on Friday was likely one of the 28 training jets. Another 28 jets are training-only fighters not fit for combat, 16 serve in the development program, and 19 are in the backup inventory. Of these only 123 aircraft are “combat coded,” fully capable of frontline combat missions. The Air Force originally planned to build 750 F-22s, but the lack of a peer competitor, economic recession, and competing demands from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan caused the program to end with only 187 production aircraft built. The F-22 was the first American jet fighter capable of flying above Mach 1 (767 miles an hour) without using gas-guzzling afterburners. Originally conceived at the tail end of the Cold War to replace the F-15C Eagle, the F-22 is a highly maneuverable, twin engine stealth fighter capable of both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions. The F-22 Raptor was the first so-called fifth-generation fighter plane to enter service. The fighter was originally based at Tyndall Air Force Base but moved to Eglin in 2018 after Hurricane Michael devastated the base. The lost Raptor was assigned to the 43rd Fighter Squadron, 325th Wing. The pilot safely ejected and was taken to Eglin’s 96th Medical Group hospital for observation and evaluation. The Raptor went down at a test and training range 12 miles northeast of the main base. The incident took place on Friday, May 15, 2020, in the skies above Eglin Air Force Base. Koslow will join Tyndall’s 95th Fighter Squadron Boneheads.Why the F-22 Raptor Is Such a Badass Plane I’m excited to graduate the B-Course, and I’m excited to keep learning and see what is next to come.”Īfter graduating from the B-Course, the pilots go on to operational F-22 units around the Air Force. “It’s quite an honor to come into the Raptor community,” Koslow said.
Michael Koslow, 43rd Fighter Squadron F-22 student pilot, earned the prestigious award. One student from each B-Course class is awarded the Top Gun award for being the most proficient pilot during Sentry Savannah by producing the most valid kills and least simulated deaths during the exercise. “All the training that we give them culminates to determine if they can perform in a dynamic and stressful environment and if they have what it takes to be combat ready wingmen.” “The Savannah exercise is like the capstone to their graduation,” said Pierce. The exercise focuses on dissimilar air combat training and gives the B-Course students the opportunity to fly with and against multiple unique airframes, each with its own challenges. The training culminates in Savannah, Georgia, during an exercise called Sentry Savannah, the Air National Guard’s largest fighter integration, air-to-air training exercise. “We take them from that level of knowledge to being a combat ready wingman within six months.” Troy Pierce, 43rd Fighter Squadron A-Flight commander. “A lot of these officers show up out of their Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals course knowing the very basics about flying an airplane,” said Capt.
The B-Course training consists of approximately 400 hours of academics, more than 45 hours of simulator flying and on average, 45 hours of actual flight time in the F-22 Raptor. We’re putting our youngest pilots through this course, and they are doing extremely well.”
We are finally getting to the point where the only way to get into the F-22 is through pilot training. “That really represents the maturation of the F-22 as a weapons system. Joseph Kunkel, 325th Fighter Wing vice commander. “This F-22 B-Course is the largest we have ever graduated,” said Col. Twelve students completed the seven-month-long course, doubling the amount of students in previous classes. The largest class of F-22 Raptor student pilots graduated from Tyndall’s Basic Course Aug.