HEADLINES
USAF REDEPLOYS KEY RAPTOR MISSIONS
ON NOVEMBER 2, the Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson announced interim plans for several of the units displaced from Tyndall AFB, Florida, when Hurricane Michael struck the Panama City, Florida, base on October 10. The Category 4 storm came ashore, packing winds in excess of 155mph (249km/h) that caused widespread catastrophic damage to the base. Nearly every building on the site was damaged, including hangars where a number of aircraft unable to fly out were stored.
The USAF has not said how many aircraft were hangared at Tyndall when the storm struck. However, it has widely been reported that as many as 17 of the wing’s 55 F-22As were involved. The bulk of the 325th Fighter Wing’s F-22As and T-38As were evacuated to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The Raptors and Talons were subsequently relocated to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, beginning on October 14. With recovery operations under way the first Raptors were removed from damaged hangars and returned to flying status. Pilots from the 1st Fighter Wing began ferrying the fighters to Langley on October 21.
A number of missions will resume at Tyndall over the next few months but others will be shi…
