USAF Tackling Issues To Prepare F/A-22 For Fielding

Published: Feb 14, 2005
Source: www.aviationnow.com



LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. - The U.S. Air Force is tackling a host of issues to prepare the F/A-22 Raptor to become operational in less than a year.

Col. Frank Gorenc, commander of Langley's 1st Fighter Wing, whose 27th Fighter Squadron will become the first unit to field the F/A-22, told reporters Feb. 11 that the Air Force is grappling with how to transition the Lockheed Martin-built fighter from the development and testing world, which is the "controlled environment" the aircraft has been in for years, to the operational realm, which can be much more chaotic and demanding. When the Raptor is fielded, the Air Force will no longer have "the luxury to say, 'OK, we have some issues, let's step back, let's wait a day before we fly the airplane again,'" Gorenc said.

"When we get orders to generate for combat, I can't put all those airplanes in a hangar," he added. "We're going to be generating airplanes outside, on the flight line, 3:30 in the morning, in the rain, in the cold, and that's really our challenge. Up to this point, we really haven't done that."continue..