The U.S. Air Force has released pictures of the F-22 Raptor fighter jets out of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, fly alongside a KC-135 Stratotanker during an aerial refueling mission on July 29.
The post, which includes pictures of F-22 Raptors with KC-135 Stratotanker, said that combat aircraft take part an aerial refueling mission above an ‘undisclosed location’.
The F-22 Raptors, from the 1st Fighter Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., is currently serving its first deployment to Al Udeid Air Base to defend American forces and interests in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, according to U.S. Air Forces Central Command.
This historic deployment is a total force effort consisting of Airmen from the 1st Fighter Wing and 192nd Wing, with the support of the 633rd Air Base Wing, who train and deploy alongside one another, providing a ready force for the United States Air Force.
Last month, the U.S. Air Force announced that the fifth-generation jet fighters have arrived in Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar for the first time to “defend American forces and interests in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.”
The Military.com reported that Raptors have in the past been stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. The fifth-generation fighter had been part of the air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since the fight began in 2014; they returned home last fall, and were replaced by F-15C Eagles earlier this year.
The F-22, a critical component of the Global Strike Task Force, is designed to project air dominance, rapidly and at great distances and defeat threats attempting to deny access to our nation’s Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The F-22 cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft.
