USAF Plans to Make F-22 Available for ASA

July 13, 2009

On the Air Force agenda, says Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, is to have both the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command participating in F-22 total force missions. Donley issued a statement late Friday, responding to the advice offered by Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt that the nation’s best fighter should serve in the Air National Guard’s air sovereignty alert mission to protect the US homeland. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) had asked the Air Guard director for his opinion on handling the looming ASA fighter shortfall. Wyatt said USAF should base F-22s (and eventually F-35s) at strategic ANG locations. In his statement, Donley acknowledged the Air Guard’s premier role in providing homeland aerial defense, saying, “Their role in the total fight is important and through several total force integration initiatives, both the Guard and Reserve will be integrated into the F-22 total force missions.” He pointed that the service plans to add to the current Guard and Reserve classic associate units operating the F-22 and that it “continues to work with US Northern Command to ensure the Air Sovereignty Alert mission requirements are met.”

Related Content

Air Force Plans New Campaign, Social Media Partnerships to Combat Recruiting Shortfall

March 31, 2023
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…

GAO Tells Congress: Pentagon Still Needs a Portfolio Plan for Tactical Aviation

March 31, 2023
A GAO official told the House Armed Services Committee that the Pentagon still doesn't have a portfolio-wide plan for tactical aviation, which would help itself and Congress identify true priorities and avoid duplication of effort. He also said the agency is worried that the F-35’s engine shortcomings are being addressed…

21 Tankers Line Up for Record-Breaking Launch as McConnell Practices ACE

March 30, 2023
More than 20 tankers lined the runway at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., on March 27, for an “elephant walk” and the base’s largest mass launch of aircraft ever. Sixteen KC-46s and five KC-135s participated in the flush, with aircraft and Airmen from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing and the 931st…

F-35s Arrive at Kadena as F-15 Withdrawl Continues

March 30, 2023
F-35 Lightning II fighters arrived on Okinawa in March as the Air Force continues to swap out its permanently deployed F-15 Eagles at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Air Force officials declined to provide the exact number of F-35s at Kadena or say when more F-15s would depart, citing operational security.

It’s Official: ARRW Is Done When All-Up Tests Conclude. What’s Next?

March 30, 2023
The Air Force’s ARRW hypersonic missile program will end after another couple of tests, service acquisition executive Andrew Hunter told the House Armed Services Committee. His written testimony affirmed remarks from Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall that the boost-glide ARRW will be supplanted by the air-breathing Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft Will Join the Air Force Before NGAD

March 29, 2023
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft will be operational in the late 2020s, several years before the Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems, Air Force officials told the House Armed Services tactical aviation panel. The CCAs will first be “shooters,” then electronic warfare platforms, then sensors, in that order, they added.