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)
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.