The F/A-22 Raptor on 
Aug. 29 demonstrated its air-to-ground capability, launching two Joint Direct Attack Munitions on the Utah Test and Training Range—the culminating slice of a mission scenario, not the whole pie. It was the first of a series of follow-on operational test and evaluation missions that will run through late fall, according to officials with the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nev. Each mission may include numerous sorties, all flown in “operationally realistic” scenarios with adversaries, aerial refueling, and ground control intercept, as well as the full maintenance effort needed to produce each sortie.
Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser
March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.