so what we need to do when
we have these opportunities
is to train with them because
that’s exactly the co-operative
integration between the
Typhoon and the fth-
generation F-22 that we want
to practise and develop.
“We’ve got some very good
standard operating procedures
to work together and some
really good tactics that go
along with that, but every time
we y together we press and
push those tactics more and
develop them further.”VENTURING EAST
Two F-22s supported by a
KC-135R Stratotanker from
the 100th Air Refueling Wing
at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk,
visited Mihail Kogalniceanu
AB in Romania on April 22. A similarly sized
package went to Šiauliai AB, Lithuania, on
April 29.
Four Raptors also took part in a ypast on
April 20 over the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial
in Marnes-la-Coquette on the western
outskirts of Paris – marking the centenary of
the formation of this squadron on April 20,
1916 by 38 US volunteer pilots who ew under
French command a year before their country
entered into World War One.The memorial commemorates all 269
American pilots who ew with the French Air
Force as part of the larger Lafayette Flying
Corps, 68 of whom were killed and are
interred at the memorial crypt.
Another F-22 unit, the 94th FS from Joint
Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, can trace its
lineage back to the 103rd Aero Squadron,the successor to the
Lafayette Escadrille when
the Air Service, American
Expeditionary Force
arrived in France in 1917.
Consequently, two 94th FS
pilots ew two of the F-22As
in the ypast – which also
included a B-52H (which
landed at RAF Fairford,
Gloucestershire), three
French Air Force Mirage
2000Ns and a Rafale plus a
Stearman PT-17 biplane.
The Raptors’ visit to the
UK also included pilots
from the 95th FS reserve
associate unit, the 301st
FS. The F-22A pilots on the
deployment from the various
units trained in both air-to-air
and air-to-ground roles,
although only simulated
weapons releases took place.
Also at the media event on April 14
was Major General Eric Vollmecke, Air
National Guard Assistant to the USAFE/
Air Forces Africa Commander, who said:
“This F-22 deployment was funded in part
by the European Reassurance Initiative.
Through this deployment we demonstrate
our obligation to our persistent rotational
presence in Europe and our pledge to our
allies.”Four F-22As performing a ypast over the Lafayette Escadrille
Memorial on April 20. G Martel/Armée de l’AirThe 95th FS commander’s jet, 05-4095, in what the USAF calls a
protective aircraft shelter during the media event at RAF Lakenheath
on April 14. Key-Dino CarraraDuring the Raptors’ visit they worked with the
resident F-15 units at Lakenheath and RAF
Typhoons. Jim HaseltineTwo Raptors taxiing during their visit to Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania on April 22. USAF/Tech Sgt Ryan Cranehttp://www.aviation-news.co.uk 1514-15_f22sDC.mfDCDC.mf.indd 15 05/05/2016 18: