A massive rescue effort is underway to locate the F-22 pilot missing since his Raptor crashed Tuesday evening in a remote, rugged area about 100 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska, during a nighttime training flight. The aircraft was assigned to the 3rd Wing at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Elmendorf spokesman AIC Christopher Gross told the Daily Report late Thursday US East Coast time that base officials “know where the [crash] site is” and are “in the process of getting people and supplies” there. That’s no easy task. “The training area where the F-22 crashed is larger than the state of Vermont,” said Col. Jack McMullen, 3rd Wing commander in a base release issued late Thursday. He continued: “It’s remote, with no maintained roads in the winter and the terrain is very rugged. All these factors complicate the process even in good weather. When you factor in sub-zero temperatures and the potential for heavy snowfall, you see this is truly a massive undertaking.”
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
