US Air Force Seeks To Replace F-22 Squadrons At Tyndall With F-35s Written 10 December 2018

Air Force Times reported that two months after Hurricane Michael “devastated Tyndall Air Force Base in Northern Florida, the [US] Air Force on Friday said it wants to rebuild the installation” in order to station three squadrons of F-35s there. The change, if approved, “would mean operational F-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron would not return to Tyndall.” The Air Force has asked Congress for supplemental funding to repair the damage, but Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek “said the amount of money is still being decided.” If the change is approved, F-35s could be based at Tyndall beginning in 2023, and the F-22s “formerly at Tyndall would be permanently moved to squadrons at other bases that are now temporarily housing them: Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii.” F-22 squadrons at those bases would “grow from 21 to 24 fighters apiece to permanently accommodate the Tyndall aircraft.” According to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, “We have recommended that the best path forward to increase readiness and use money wisely is to consolidate the operational F-22s formerly at Tyndall in Alaska, Hawaii and Virginia, and make the decision now to put the next three squadrons of F-35s, beyond those for which we have already made decisions, at Tyndall.” This decision will “allow the Air Force to tailor the new construction at Tyndall to the best fit for F-35s, the Air Force said.”
More Info (Air Force Times)