Air Combat Command officials are going to show of the service’s new F-22A Raptor, recently declared operational, in 2006 but only for what is called a “heritage flyby.” That means they’ll do a photo pass with vintage aircraft but no aerobatics. ACC is working on a demonstration program that would permit the Raptor to make its airshow aerobatic debut in 2007. When it starts the show circuit, expect the new fighter to do a max-performance takeoff even more dramatic than the F-15’s near straight-up opener, as well as extreme angle-of-attack flybys, slow and fast flight, and eye-watering, extremely tight turns.
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.