T
he National Museum of the US Air Force has put the service’s new stealth fighter, the F-22A Raptor, on display at its facility in Dayton, Ohio. The display aircraft, SN 91-4003, was one of nine engineering, manufacturing, and developing test aircraft and was the first to launch an AIM-120 missile at supersonic speeds. The museum’s restoration team prepared the aircraft for display, painting it to represent an aircraft flown by the first Raptor unit, the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va. Unlike many aviation museums, says director retired Maj. Gen. Charles Metcalf, the USAF museum “not only strives to tell the Air Force stories of the past, but those of the present and future as well.” (Museum report by Rob Bardua)
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.
