Air Force Magazine provides an inside look at the F-22’s first combat mission with an exclusive interview with one of the pilots who flew the historic mission. The article, “With the Raptors Over Syria,” will be featured in our February print edition, but we’re posting it here first. No one thought the F-22s would make their combat debut in Syria, including the pilots who had been training in the region for months. In fact, the aircraft already were configured for the long ride back to the United States when they were called to combat. From an F-15E engine malfunction that closed the runway for 20 minutes to Iraqi air traffic controllers vectoring the Raptors toward Iran instead of Syria, the fighters overcame several challenges, yet still managed to hit their target and safely accomplish the mission. (Click here to read the full story.)
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design the Air Force said.