The Air Force has selected 1st Lt. Cody Clark as one of the first pilots who could be flying the F-22A Raptor without any prior operational fighter experience. Clark is the sole first-assignment instructor pilot among eight specialized undergraduate pilot training graduates selected to attend introduction to fighter fundamentals—the top four of these nine airmen will go straight into F-22 training, while the other five will go to F-15C training. The service decided to put one FAIP into the mix to see if the IP experience will provide a “quicker learning curve,” explains Col. Doug Troyer, commander of the 71st Operations Group, Vance AFB, Okla. Of Clark, the ops boss, says he is one of those pilots who “have an innate ability to process what’s going on around them just a little faster than their peers.”
While the Space Force is still making long-term plans to establish high-fidelity live and virtual test and training ranges in the coming years, officials say they're also working with operators to identify near-term gaps and quickly field capabilities to address them.
