Lt. Col. Dirk Smith, commander of the 94th Fighter Squadron at Langley AFB, Va., and Maj. Kevin Dolata, flew the squadron’s first two new F-22A stealth fighters to the Air Combat Command base from Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, Ga., production facility on March 3 The 94th FS flew its final F-15 flight in December 2005 and expects to be ready to deploy operationally with the F-22A by May 2007. Lockheed is delivering two aircraft per month to the 94th.
F-35As from the Vermont Air National Guard have deployed to Puerto Rico in recent days, continuing a major buildup of U.S. Air Force assets in Latin America aimed at combating drug trafficking and pressuring the regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
