From 8-28 August 2018, 12 Lockheed F-22 ‘“Raptors” made a deployment to the United States Air Force Europe (USAFE) airbase of Spangdahlem in Germany. For this 3 week deployment to Europe came the F-22s of the 95th Fighter Squadron, 325th Fighter Wing, based at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, USA.
As part of this “Flying Training Deployment”, the F-22 fighters paid visits to Norway, Greece, Spain, Romania and Poland. Some visits were just for one day, taking-off in the early morning and returning late in the afternoon; while other visits lasted for several days.
During the visits in Europe, the F-22s were accompanied by Boeing KC-135 tanker aircraft for air-air refueling during the flight to the destination, while aircraft maintainers flew onboard for ground maintenance during the debriefing of the pilots after the morning missions.
Besides these visits, there were a lot of air-air battles (“dogfights”) fought overhead western Europe with and against the Spangdahlem based USAFE F-16s, the European NATO partners Germany (Eurofighters), France (Mirages), Belgium (F-16s) and the Netherlands (F-16s) in order to maximise training opportunities while strengthening the NATO alliance and deterring regional aggression.
Each time in Europe, the goal of the aircraft and airman is to train with allies and other US Air Force aircraft as well as forward deploy to European NATO bases. As part of the European Deterrence Initiative, these training deployments assure allies and further demonstrate the commitment to regional security and stability. In addition, these training deployments helps demonstrate and exercise the capabilities of the aircraft in various environments, enhancing integration between the US and its allies.
It is also an important goal to integrate fourth and fifth, or fifth and fifth generation aircraft capabilities, especially since allies and partners within Europe are operating the F-35 Lightning II like the Norwegian Air Force. It is a perfect opportunity for aircraft to train alongside other types of Air Force aircraft in a realistic training environment.
Both the F-22 and F-35 bring complementary capabilities to the 21st Century warfighters. The F-22 is a vital component in our air force that projects air dominance rapidly and at great distances to defeat any possible threats.
Organisation
A lot of planning does need to be done and each hosting/participating country, hosting and participating wing/units are involved, with USAFE being the lead for the F-22s operations. Invitations are sent out early and a selection is made of the learning objectives. These are planned for the duration of the deployment and then baseline instructions, the rules of engagements and the airspace reservation are sent out to all participants of the mission. This is daily practice for NATO aircraft but the F-22s presence made it very attractive for European participants.
History
This 2018 deployment was not the first deployment to Europe, but certainly it was the longest. In August 2015, the US Air Force deployed F-22 Raptors to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, to train and exercise with other allied militaries and US forces; the F-22s were deployed from the 95th FS at Tyndall AFB. From April to May 2016, the US Air Force deployed F-22s Raptors to RAF Lakenheath for training exercises with other Europe-based aircraft, to conduct critical Global Response Force (GRF) training and to bolster NATO allies’ capabilities. The F-22s were deployed from the 95th FS at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Most recently F-22s, airmen and associated equipment were deployed to RAF Lakenheath, England, October 2017. These F-22s were from the 27th Fighter Squadron and the pilots and maintainers were from the 94th Fighter Squadron. All were from the 1st Fighter Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.
F-22s have also participated in European airshows, such as the Royal International Air Tattoo and the Farnborough Air Show, as well as a flyover during the 100th Anniversary celebration of the Lafayette Escadrille in Paris, France.
Text and photos by Alex van Noye & Joris van Boven
