F-22 stealth jets got 587 aircraft to back off in their ‘combat surge’ over Syria
By Alex Lockie, Business Insider
A U.S. Air Force F-22 assigned to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, prepares to receive fuel from a KC-10 Extender over Syria March 2. Raptor stealth fighters recently completed their first "combat surge" in operations over Syria. (Tech. Sgt. Anthony Nelson Jr./Air Force)
U.S. Air Force F-22s recently completed their first “combat surge” in operations over Syria, and in doing so deterred almost 600 Syria, Iranian and Russian combat aircraft in the crowded skies there, the Pentagon said.
Raptor pilots from the 94th Fighter Squadron out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis completed 590 individual flights, totaling 4,600 flight hours, with 4,250 pounds of ordnance dropped in their deployment to the region in the “first-ever F-22 Raptor combat surge.”
The Pentagon said the F-22s, assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Fighter Wing at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, “deterred” 587 enemy aircraft in the process, suggesting the jet commands some respect against older, Russian-made models often in operation by Russian and Syrian forces. This surge saw F-22 operations maximized over a three-day period.
Unlike any other battle space today, U.S. forces on the ground in Syria have come under threat from enemy airpower.
F-22s on this deployment escorted Navy F/A-18s as part of their mission. In June 2017, Lt. Cmdr. Mike “MOB” Tremel, a Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet pilot, scored the U.S.’s first air-to-air kill in years after downing a Syrian Su-22 that threatened US forces in the country.
The stealth fighter pilots defended U.S. forces against enemy bomber aircraft and also backed up U.S., U.K., and French forces when they struck Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the country’s west in response to chemical weapons attacks.
A Raptor with the 94th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron prepares to taxi onto the flight line at Al Dhafra Air Base, April 20. (Staff Sgt. Erica Rodriguez/Air Force)
The F-22s flew "deep into Syrian territory, facing both enemy fighters and surface-to-air missile systems," the Pentagon said.
While no US or allied aircraft went down, photos from the most recent U.S. attack on Syria’s government show the country’s air defenses firing blindly into the night sky as the F-22s worked overhead.
The F-22 has encountered enemy fighter jets above Syria before, but the Pentagon has only reported relatively safe interactions and intercepts.
Having eyes on the battlefield can mean the difference between hitting the right or wrong target, or even hitting the target at all, which is why U.S. special operators are looking to upgrade a host of optics items.
For the past two decades, radio frequencies were open, and it was uncommon for those deployed to encounter extensive jamming or interception. That’s not the case when facing more advanced adversaries like Russia or China, as opposed to terrorist organizations.
The supply of infant formula is running 40 percent to 50 percent below normal in commercial stores, but the most critical, specialized formulas have been even more depleted.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., worried the Air Force could find itself without enough aircraft to conduct battlefield management or rescue downed personnel.
The Pentagon has modeled a new high-level team to rush military aid to Ukraine after the group it used to rush supplies to troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, according to a memo obtained by Defense News and sources familiar with the matter.