The F-22A force at Tyndall AFB, Fla., the schoolhouse for Raptor pilots, has exceeded 5,000 flying hours in the new stealth fighter. The Tyndall force reached 5K on Sept. 20, according to an Oct. 13 Air Education and Training Command news release. Tyndall is the second base to achieve 5,000 hours, following the primary test site at Edwards AFB, Calif. Tyndall’s 43rd Fighter Squadron so far has trained 74 F-22 pilots.
The Air Force will begin its 71st annual Operation Christmas Drop on Dec. 4. The weeklong exercise is a yearly tradition that delivers supplies such as food, fishing equipment, school books, and clothes to remote islands in the Pacific. It is the longest-running Department of Defense humanitarian mission.