Moseley stated that the Air Force is “within days” of announcing F-22 initial operational capability. Once that happens, Air Combat Command can deploy the fighter overseas. Moseley said he expects that to happen by early spring. His preferred first destination is the Pacific theater. The Chief said there’d be little value in deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan because there really is no role there now for an F-22. Taking the new fighter to the Pacific, he explained, would enable allies and the other services to get used to working with the F-22 and “seeing what it can do.”
The Pentagon is counting on Congress to navigate a legislative tightrope and pass a party-line bill to fund nearly a quarter of its $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027, including billions of dollars for top priorities like Golden Dome, the F-35, munitions, and unmanned systems. Experts and lawmakers from…