Hecker and fellow Raptor pilots—on the first day many of them had ever launched weapons from an F/A-22 for an air-to-ground sortie—not only hit their targets, they “shacked” them, said weapons systems evaluators at Hill AFB, Utah. The term means the bomb struck the target dead center—a bull’s eye. “What we saw today was an outstanding display of training and technology,” said Col. Doug Reed, commander of the 388th Range Squadron at Hill.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.