US Air Force to Launch Operation Pacific Iron 2021 in July, Including a Large Fleet of F-22 Raptors

Operation Pacific Iron 2021 is scheduled to take place within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility in July to showcase the U.S. air force’s strategic flexibility, according to Pacific Air Forces.

The announcement comes as U.S.-China tensions continue to simmer over the issues of Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The exercise involves more than 35 aircraft and approximately 800 Airmen from Pacific Air Forces and Air Combat Command, Pacific Air Forces reported on July 13. Notably, 25 F-22 raptors—a seemingly unprecedented number of its kind to deploy to the West Pacific—will join the drill from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Veronica S. Perez, chief of Engagements Division, Public Affairs of Pacific Air Forces, told The Epoch Times that the purpose of the operation is “to conduct simulated combat-related dispersal operations to develop tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), for real-world operations.”

“Operationalizing readiness-enhancing concepts is critical to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” she emphasized.

When asked about the start and completion dates of the operation, Perez said they would not provide specifics at this time over operational security concerns.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Fig” Leaf, a former deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said he’s not aware of a previous exercise utilizing F-22s in such numbers, according to Tribune News Service.

Leaf believed that China should “take it as a demonstration of the legitimacy of the American commitment to the region” because it is not cheap to deploy 25 F-22s from two different bases to the Western Pacific.

Functionally, the F-22 has persistently “demonstrated precision attack capabilities, defeating both air- and ground-based threats with unparalleled lethality and survivability,” according to F-22 manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

““The F-22’s ability to collect and share tactical information with friendly assets enables U.S. and allied forces to engage targets with unmatched battlespace awareness,” says the manufacturer. “The Raptor makes other coalition aircraft more survivable.”

The F-35 is better in that particular role.

It becomes like a little network of AWACS.

A buddy of mine was a jet AF jet mechanic. War games in Alaska. F-6s versus F22s. F22s were shooting the F-16s as they were taking off.

Everything about the plane is classified. The only cops that know the true capabilities of the planes are the designers, the crews and the pilots.

He told. S that even against F-5s they’d have to modify the rules to make it competitive.

And to think, of the 5 largest air forces in the world, 3 of the top 4 are the USAF, US Navy, US Marine Corps, if I remember correctly.

When Israel was fighting the Syrians, Israeli AF F-5s were shooting down Syrian jets as they were taking off.

The US Air Force Quietly Admits the F-35 Is a Failure

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/320295-the-us-air-force-quietly-admits-the-f-35-is-a-failure

This is one article. But it would appear that the one size fits all approach might work.

Not a better plane for CAS than the A10

Not a better plane for dog fighting than the F15 and F22.

F35 and it’s variants are supposed to be the best of the A10, F15, F16, F18, and F22. Hopefully it’ll work as advertised.

The US Air Force Quietly Admits the F-35 Is a Failure

You're trying to assess the F-35 against other airframes that have completely different missions. It's apples and oranges, maybe even apples and granola flakes.

The Joint Strike Fighter program's objective is to turn American tax dollars into political donations to Congressional reelection campaigns. In that regard, it has been a wild success and is unmatched in military aviation history. No lobbying effort has ever crossed so many congressional boundaries simultaneously and bought off so many politicians in a single effort.

The production of a flightworthy aircraft is incidental, if that aircraft could actually perform a military mission to any degree of competency, even better.

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