later. Another notable event came on
November 22, 2007, when F-22s of 90th
FS at Elmendorf, Alaska, performed the
type’s rst NORAD interception, this
being of two Russian Tu-95MS ‘Bear-Hs’.
Raptors have been deployed to the
Middle East since 2009 under the 380th
Air Expeditionary Wing. Rotations
in and out of Al Dhafra, United Arab
Emirates, have been made in order
to provide a show of strength in the
region, particularly related to Iran. On
March 12, 2013, during the third Raptor
deployment to the region, a pair of F-22s
intercepted two Iranian F-4 Phantom IIs
over international waters high above the
Persian Gulf. The Phantom crews were
reportedly being vectored on a ground
control intercept (GCI) to engage a USAFMQ-1B Predator. Leading the Raptor pair
was Lt Col Kevin ‘Showtime’ Sutter eld,
a pilot with the Air Force Reserve
Command’s 302nd Fighter Squadron.
Gen Mark Welsh, the then Air Force chief
of sta , revealed the full story later in
the year. Introducing Sutter eld, Welsh
said: ‘He ew under their aircraft to check
out their weapons load without them
knowing that he was there and then
pulled up on their left wing and then
called them and said, ‘You really ought to
go home.’’
As well as the F-4 incident, this F-22
deployment was also notable as being
the rst so-called ‘Rapid Raptor’. Lt Col
Sutter eld spearheaded a charge against
the need for large force packages,
emphasising what he called ‘a way toAbove: The F-22’s
rst NORAD
intercept came
on November
22, 2007, when
a pair of Russian
Tu-95MS ‘Bears’
was shadowed
o the coast of
Alaska. USAF
Below: Lt Col
Kevin Sutter eld
of the Air Force
Reserve’s 302nd
Fighter Squadron,
famously
shadowed Iranian
F-4E Phantom IIs
in March 2013.
USAF(^84) RAPTOR
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