Update on Aloha Raptors

JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii—The Hawaii Air National Guard’s 199th Fighter Squadron currently has 14 of its anticipated 20 F-22 Raptors on the ramp here. But much work remains before the unit will be fully mission-capable, Guard officials told the Daily Report in a recent interview. “The last six [F-22s] are apparently in depot and on the way,” but their exact arrival dates are yet to be determined, said one official. The squadron’s first Raptors arrived in summer 2010. About $144 million worth of military construction projects are on the books right now to accommodate the F-22s, they said. The main hangar is being replaced, and the base is getting a new squadron operations building and maintenance structures that are slated for completion by July 2013, they said. The 199th FS will operate and maintain the F-22s together with the active duty 19th FS under an active association.