U.S. Air Force Stations First Squadron of F-22s in Pacific

U.S. Air Force Stations First Squadron of F-22s in Pacific. August. 21, 2007 07:13. srkim@donga.com.

Eight F-22 Raptors, America’s most cutting-edge stealth fighter, have been sent to the U.S. Air Force in the Pacific, with the possibility of military operations on the Korean peninsula. According to the U.S. Defense Department on August 20, the U.S. Air Force assigned eight F-22 fighters to Elmendorf Air Force Base in southern Alaska on August 8. By early next year, two squadrons or 40 F-22 fighters will have been deployed to the same location in Alaska.

Regarding this deployment, Strategypage.com, a website on military affairs, commented “This puts 24 F-22s as close to North Korea as possible (for aircraft stationed in North America).”

This site titled the article “F-22s Aimed at North Korea,” yet it didn’t specify the reason. F-22 fighters have a flight range of 3,200 km and can reach as far as North Korea with the help of air-to-air refueling.

Gen. Paul Hester, commander of the Pacific Air Forces, said, “Alaska is an ideal location to house F-22 fighters because it has easy access to Asia and Europe.”

In an interview with Air Force Times in June, Gen. Hester said, “When two squadrons of F-22 fighters are fully deployed in Alaska, one squadron can be stationed in Guam or Okinawa (close to the Korean peninsula), and we expect some of the fighters to be sent to the Korean peninsula.”

Earlier this year, the U.S. Air Force assigned one squadron of F-22 fighters to its Okinawa base for three months and had joint-military training drills there.

Hong Kong’s Phoenix Satellite TV network quoted a Taiwan military source last month as saying, “Earlier this year, eight of U.S. Air Force’s F-22 flew over North Korea’s airspace after air-to-air refueling, then successfully flew back to base.”

F-22 has advanced stealth capability, which helps the fighter escape enemy radar systems, and has set a record of not being shut down in mock combat while downing 144 fighters, including F-15C, F-16, and FA-18 in the simulations at the same time.

Japan and Australia want to purchase F-22 fighters, but the U.S. Congress put a brake on their wishes, claiming, “The F-22 cannot be exported.” Nevertheless, Japan hasn’t given up its hope to purchase the fighter.