The F-22 fleet will probably be up and running again “soon,” said Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. In an interview Tuesday, Schwartz said he expects a report next week from the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board task force headed by retired Gen. Gregory Martin, which will offer a way forward regarding questions about the F-22’s onboard oxygen generation system. Schwartz said last week’s evacuation of F-22s from JB Langley-Eustis, Va., in anticipation of Hurricane Irene was a simple early implementation of the “return-to-flight” plan developed for when the F-22 grounding is lifted. Schwartz also said the OBOGS has been ruled out as a factor in last November’s crash of an F-22 in Alaska, which took the life of the pilot. A more thorough investigation of the crash site was possible during the recent summer months and yielded recovered hardware and computer memory that made a more comprehensive analysis possible. Completion of an accident investigation board report, long delayed due to difficulties in assessing the wreckage, is expected soon, Schwartz said.
U.S. Space Command has established an internal planning team, dubbed Tasked Force Voyager, to spearhead logistics for the combatant command's relocation from Colorado to Alabama.
