US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Derek Seifert
- The F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets left behind at Tyndall Air Base, which was devastated by Hurricane Michael’s rampage across Florida, will be inspected by Lockheed Martin structural engineers.
- Tyndall Air Base serves as a critical training and maintenance ground for about 50 F-22s, or nearly a third of all of the ultra-capable, ultra-expensive air superiority jets.
- Initial reports indicated as many as 17 of the stealth jets, worth over $ 1 billion, had been damaged, but newer assessments say the damage was much less severe, and the planes can likely be salvaged.
- Some of the F-22s made it out, but with the US’s top F-22 training grounds wiped nearly off the map, it’s unclear when the US’s top fighter will get back on track.
The F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets left behind at Tyndall Air Base when Hurricane Michael damaged or destroyed virtually every building on site will be visited by structural engineers from Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor tweeted.
Tyndall Air Base serves as a critical training and maintenance ground for about 50 F-22s, or nearly a third of all of the world’s most capable air superiority jets near Panama City, Florida, Dallas News, who first reported the story, said. See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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See Also:
- US Air Force’s F-22, F-35 stealth fighters devastated by mother nature and freak accidents
- F-22 stealth jets got 587 enemy aircraft to back off in their first ‘combat surge’ over Syria
- Florida Air Force base for top stealth fighter-jets takes a ‘direct hit’ from Hurricane Michael
