F-22 Raptors have flown in the majority of Operation Inherent Resolve strike missions in Syria, due to their force-multiplying effect on the capability of legacy aircraft, Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hawk Carlisle said. “When you have F-22s in a package, every single airplane in that package is better because the F-22s are there,” he said during a panel discussion at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando on Thursday. “We’re putting Raptors into every package, whenever we can, and it is most of the time,” Carlisle added. In addition to the F-22’s ability to go into airspace denied to other aircraft, its capacity to escort, manage, retask, and provide dynamic targeting information “has even exceeded our expectations—the airplane has performed fantastically” against ISIS, he said. The F-22 saw its comba?t debut last September, leading a strike sortie against ISIS targets in Syria.
Celebrating 100 Years of Liquid-Fueled Rockets
March 11, 2026
March 16, 2026, marks 100 years since Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket. Over the past century, new and ever more capable liquid-fueled rockets have literally propelled humanity into space. Why liquid-fueled rockets?