Our current fleet is 195 F-22s, eight test and 187 operational. HANG has 14 of them, almost 10% of the entire fleet?
I guess we’re serious about making sure the Japanese don’t pull another sneak attack on Pearl.
Hawaii actually does make sense once one considers which country has led to the Pacific region gaining significance. China's current/forecast rise has led to some shifts in asset positioning. For instance, there is a shift in the number of submarines (with the shift leading to more submarines being based in the Pacific as compared to the Atlantic).
Maj. Gen. Jan-Marc Jouas, director of Pacific Air Forces operations, said the Raptor represents an "exponential leap in the war-fighting capabilities of U.S. forces in the Pacific."
"Basing the F-22 Raptor in Hawaii underscores America's commitment to the Pacific region and adds further air dominance capability to United States Pacific Command," Jouas said.
In May, Brig. Gen. Joseph K. Kim, commander of the 154th Wing of the Hawaii Air National Guard, said, "Location being everything, having these fighters puts us within one hop of what could be a possible area of conflict out in the theater."