Air Force and industry 
officials challenged those within the Pentagon who would seek to cut the numbers of F/A-22 Raptors. At several venues at AFA’s Air & Space Conference, officials maintained the new stealthy fighter is crucial to continued US air dominance. Maj. Gen. Richard Lewis, the Raptor program executive officer, said the fighter’s advanced capabilities and sophisticated weapons are crucial in the face of known future threats. “I think we’ve undersold the airplane in the past,” Lewis said at the conference.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.