Officials at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, got together with senior Hawaii state lawmakers to celebrate the arrival of the first two F-22 Raptors slated to call Hickam home. Hickam is scheduled to receive a total of 20 F-22s that members of the Hawaii Air National Guard’s 199th Fighter Squadron will operate, together with members of Hickam’s active duty 19th FS, under an active association. “The arrival of the F-22s begins a new chapter in the already close relationship between the Guard and the active duty in Hawaii,” said Army Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, Hawaii’s state adjutant general, at the July 9 event. The stealth fighters are replacing Hickam’s F-15s that the 199th FS has flown since 1987. Hickam joins Elmendorf, AFB, Alaska, Holloman AFB, N.M., and Langley AFB, Va., as beddown locations for combat-ready F-22s. (Pearl Harbor-Hickam report by Sgt. Cohen A. Young) (For more background, see this Pearl Harbor-Hickam report and Lockheed Martin release.)
Unmanned aerial vehicles are fair game for U.S. Special Operations Command’s armed overwatch platform competition, Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. James C. “Jim” Slife told reporters on Feb. 26. However, the MQ-9 Reaper drone might not be up to the challenge in its current form, he suggested during…