F-22 officers with the 3rd Wing at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, have devised a concept for dispatching a contingent of F-22s with a smaller logistics package to any forward location and having the fighters combat-ready at the new location—all within 24 hours of deploying. The wing has tested this new rapid deployment package multiple times, and featured it in exercises, Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Hawk Carlisle told the Daily Report in interviews in mid-September and in August. Members of Elmendorf’s 525th Fighter Squadron briefed Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh on the concept during Welsh’s visit to the base in August. The concept is built around a tailored four-ship deployment of F-22s paired with a single C-17 that carries supporting materials, munitions, and maintainers. “If you have the right capability on a C-17 . . . and you have the F-22s, you can move them together, quickly,” said Carlisle. Click here to continue to the full report.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
