Flight Lt. Dan Robinson of the Royal Air Force has been fascinated with aircraft for a long, long time. “I was that kid who always wanted to talk to the pilot,” he said. Now, he can make a boast no other RAF pilot can match: He has completed flight training on a Fifth Generation fighter–the F-22 Raptor. Robinson, currently assigned to the 43rd Fighter Squadron as part of an exchange program had been undergoing two months in the training cycle at Tyndall AFB, Fla. He graduated this week.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
