May 19, 2020,10:51am EDT
We Can Only Count On 33 F-22s To Fight Tonight
Eric Tegler
According to calculations by retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General David Deptula, the United States can count on just 33 F-22s to be ready to fight at any time.
Most Americans have no idea that barely two squadrons of the world’s premier jet fighter would be able to go to war at moment’s notice. Conversely, U.S. adversaries know that the Raptor is a significant but limited threat.
The crash of a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor last Friday morning at a training range about 12 miles outside Eglin Air Force Base in Florida has again brought the relatively small number of Raptors into focus. While the Air Force officially lists 186 jets (now 185) in its inventory and the airplane that crashed was one of 28 dedicated training F-22s, assessing the number of the combat capable, or combat ready, Raptors isn’t as simple as subtracting (now 27) trainers from 185 airplanes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2020/05/19/we-can-only-count-on-33-f-22s----to-fight-tonight/#344982784531
