The contingent of airmen and F-22s that deployed to Kadena AB, Japan, from JB Langley-Eustis, Va., in late July returned home after completing a roughly 10-week stint in the Pacific, announced Langley officials. These airmen and machines were part of a normal rotation of US combat forces to the region. While at Kadena, the expeditionary unit “performed training” under the direction of Kadena’s 18th Wing, states Langley’s Oct. 22 release. This was the first Raptor deployment to the region since the fleet-wide F-22 standdown in 2011, service officials have said. It overlapped with a Raptor deployment from JB-Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, to Andersen AFB, Guam. The Langley aircrews and maintainers, a mix of more than 200 Active Duty and Air National Guard personnel, began arriving back at Langley on Oct. 13, according to the release. (Langley photo caption by MSgt. Carlos J. Claudio)
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.