F-22 stealth jets got 587 aircraft to back off in their ‘combat surge’ over Syria

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F-22 stealth jets got 587 aircraft to back off in their ‘combat surge’ over Syria
By: Alex Lockie, Business Insider  

U.S. Air Force F-22s recently completed their first “combat surge” in operations over Syria, and in doing so deterred almost 600 Syria, Iranian and Russian combat aircraft in the crowded skies there, the Pentagon said.

Raptor pilots from the 94th Fighter Squadron out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis completed 590 individual flights, totaling 4,600 flight hours, with 4,250 pounds of ordnance dropped in their deployment to the region in the “first-ever F-22 Raptor combat surge.”

The Pentagon said the F-22s, assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Fighter Wing at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, “deterred” 587 enemy aircraft in the process, suggesting the jet commands some respect against older, Russian-made models often in operation by Russian and Syrian forces. This surge saw F-22 operations maximized over a three-day period.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/11/06/f-22-stealth-jets-got-587-aircraft-to-back-off-in-their-combat-surge-over-syria/