FIRST FIGHTERS

The 1st Fighter Wing at Joint Base Langley-Eustis led from the front when it came to the F-22 Raptor, bringing this revolutionary fighter into US Air Force service in 2005. The demand for the wing’s capabilities remains as high today as ever.

Sqn Ldr ‘Duzza’ leads ‘Sniper’ flight into a break, punching out chaff and fiares.

FROM BEHIND THE oxygen mask and dark-tinted helmet visor comes a brief wave from the pilot as a pump of the throttles produces another distinctive howl from the engines. Joining his gang, looking and sounding like a pack of hungry velociraptors, four of the world’s most formidable air dominance fighters are preparing for action. Control surfaces limber up like stretching athletes. With their bellies close to the ground, the hunched, almost awkward jets gather in a huddle, grunting and snarling.

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