Highly touted F-22 Raptors still grounded

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE — After more than $77 billion and five years, the F-22 Raptor has never been to war and now can’t even get off the ground.

With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ongoing and bombing raids over Libya, the jet that was once touted as one that “can never be matched” sits, immobile.

On Wednesday, Air Command Communications in Langley, Va., had three words regarding the plight of the F-22 Raptor: “Still grounded, sir.”

It has now been more than a month since the F-22 has been sidelined with an unknown ailment inside the oxygen system.

The rumble that often occurs when the Raptors are flying over Bay County has been silenced. The only thunder heard lately comes from actual thunderstorms.

Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-22 Raptor, said it has sent a five-member team to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska to aid in the investigation regarding the F-22 two weeks ago.

There are about 160 jets currently in the stable, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Neither the Air Force nor Lockheed Martin has said much over the past month other than they are investigating the problem. When contacted Wednesday, Lockheed Martin said they could not comment on an ongoing investigation being handled by the Air Force.

“It’s in their hands,” said Alison Orne, spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

The potential problem came to light in November when an F-22 crashed just outside Elmendorf Air Force Base. F-22 pilot Capt. Jeff Haney was killed in the crash. Air Force officials briefly halted F-22 fights out of Elmendorf after the crash.

The Air Force confirmed “a parallel investigation” of the on-board oxygen systems of the A-10, F-15E, F-16, F-35 and T-6 aircraft, none of which fly out of Tyndall. Tyndall Air Force Base officials said other aircraft continue to fly to and from the base.

Gen. William Fraser, commander of the U.S. Combat Command in Langley, Va., directed a stand-down May 3 on the Air Force’s F-22 fleet; the stand-down is in effect until further notice, Air Force officials said. The stand-down was initiated after recent reports of potential oxygen system malfunctions, but Air Force officials said they would not count out any contributing factor.

Raptor sorties had been restricted to an altitude of 25,000 feet or below for training missions because of the oxygen system malfunctions, according to published reports. An oxygen system malfunction can be potentially life-threatening, especially at heights of 50,000 feet or more. The 25,000-foot altitude restriction would allow a pilot to quickly dive below 18,000 feet, where the atmosphere has enough oxygen to ensure prolonged survival in case of an emergency, Air Force officials said.

Tyndall Air Force Base is the home of the 325th Fighter Wing, whose primary mission is to provide air training for F-22 Raptor pilots, as well as maintenance personnel and air battle managers.

Training for F-22 pilots is performed in the 43rd Fighter Squadron at Tyndall. The 325th Air Control Squadron trains air battle managers for assignment to combat Air Force units.

Loren Thompson, COO of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said Thursday these kinds of stand-downs are not unusual and it shows that something that may seem small may have lasting effects. Thompson was deputy director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University and taught graduate-level courses in strategy, technology and media affairs at Georgetown.

“It is not unusual for investigations like this to last a couple of months,” said Thompson.