Six F-22s
from the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, are set to deploy today, along with a contingent of support and maintenance personnel, to Andersen AFB, Guam, for two-weeks of training and exercises. This will be the first stint of Pacific Air Forces-assigned Raptors in the Pacific theater, but marks the second time that F-22s have appeared in the region. In February 2007, F-22s from the 27th FS at Langley AFB, Va., deployed to Kadena AB, Japan, for several months. The Elmendorf F-22s will participate in Jungle Shield, a 13th Air Force-sponsored air defense exercise, along with B-52Hs and F-15Es already operating from the island on a rotational deployment. Following the exercise, the F-22s will take part in Cope Thaw, one in a series of regularly occurring training events that give aircrews and support personnel the opportunity to train in environments different from those at their home station. (Includes Hickam report)
B-52 Stratofortress bombers marked a new first in Operation Epic Fury when some of the BUFFs flew over Iran carrying JDAM-guided gravity bombs, according to people familiar with the matter. The development signals a weakening of Iranian air defenses and a new use for the venerable bomber in the nearly…