It has been about 20 months since the first F-22 "Raptor" jet fighters began to arrive at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, and with the delivery of the last four fighter jets to the 199th and 19th fighter squadrons, the full deployment of twenty F-22 fighter jets to Hawaii is now complete.
Major training missions are planned to prepare pilots to handle anything in the air.
Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Mark Ladtkow says, "It is a high risk game it you call it but we are extremely well trained."
The training is important because these "Raptors will be flown by active Air Force and Hawaii Air National Guard pilots.
Lt. Col. Ladtkow says 75 percent of the squadron are home-grown pilots from the National Guard.
Each jet is worth about $147 million.
Part of the training Wednesday was in training missions against F-16s from Texas.
Lt. Col. Ladtkow says the difference between the F-16 and the F-22 "is a bit like going from a stock car to a to a formal one race car."
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
