A major 
rescue effort is underway to locate the F-22 pilot missing since his Raptor crashed Tuesday in a remote, rugged area about 100 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska, during nighttime training. The aircraft was assigned to the 3rd Wing at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Elmendorf spokesman AIC Christopher Gross told the Daily Report late Thursday US East Coast time that base officials “know where the [crash] site is” and are “in the process of getting people and supplies” there. That’s no easy task. “The training area where the F-22 crashed is larger than the state of Vermont,” said Col. Jack McMullen, 3rd Wing commander in a base release issued late Thursday. The area has no maintained roads in the winter. “When you factor in sub-zero temperatures and the potential for heavy snowfall, you see this is truly a massive undertaking,” he said. While the Air Force has not officially released the pilot’s name, the Jackson Citizen Patriot, a Michigan newspaper, reported Thursday that he is Capt. Jeffrey A. Haney, citing a family member. In addition to HH-60 rescue helicopters and an HC-130 recue tanker, a Global Hawk remotely piloted surveillance aircraft has been supporting the rescue activities from the air, said Gross.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
