All 12 F-22A Raptors from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley AFB, Va., are now deployed to Kadena AB, Japan on the island of Okinawa. Two Raptors arrived from their stopover at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, on Feb. 16 and the other 10 over Feb. 17-18. The new stealthy fighters were about a week overdue for their Pacific region deployment, following a navigation software glitch that “was corrected” at Hickam. The Raptors left Hickam on Feb. 11, only to return when “multiple aircraft” developed the software problem. At Hickam, 13th Air Force commander, Lt. Gen. Loyd Utterback, called the problem a “minor issue,” but the service delayed the trip as a safety precaution.
Promotions to the Space Force’s second highest enlisted grade, senior master sergeant, have surged to the highest level in the young service’s history, bolstering the senior NCO corps as officials plan to aggressively expand the force and especially the enlisted corps.