Langley Air Force Base Afb Initial F 22 Operational Wing Beddown

Joint Base Langley-Eustis (JBLE) has served for over 100 years as a cornerstone of American military aviation. The base has served as a flight test center for US Navy seaplanes and observation/spotter aircraft, as well as the ill-fated Roma airship. Additionally, JBLE was one of the first US Air Force (USAF) bases to operate the advanced Lockheed F-22 Raptor. In 1921, Langley Field served as the launching point for Gen. William “Billy” Mitchell’s US Army Air Service efforts in historic battleship bombing flight experiments. Prior to World War II, Langley Field became the first US Army Air Corps base to operate the Boeing YB-17, prototype of the famous B-17 Flying Fortress. During the latter half of the 20th century, Langley Air Force Base served as the headquarters for the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and the Air Combat Command (ACC). JBLE still serves as ACC headquarters.

Provides history on America's next generation of fighter plane, known as the F-22 Raptor.

From the late 1980s through the present, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy have been acquiring two multirole fighter aircraft platforms. The Air Force has pursued the F/A-22, the world's first supersonic stealth fighter, while the Navy has developed the F/A-18E/F, a carrier-capable fighter with air-to-air, interdiction, and close air support capability. Currently, the F/A-22 is in the late stages of development, while the F/A-18E/F is in full production and has already been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The design of the F/A-22 includes advancements in all the major areas of the aircraft, including airframe, avionics, and propulsion. The airframe incorporates an advanced stealth design to lower its radar cross section and uses large amounts of advanced materials, such as composites and titanium. The integrated avionics suite of the aircraft brings together information collected from several sensors on the aircraft to be displayed to the pilot. The propulsion system features two high thrust, Pratt and Whitney, F119 jet engines to allow the F/A-22 to supercruise above the speed of sound without using the fuel-consuming afterburner. The airframe design, flight controls, and thrust vectoring are also used to improve the maneuverability of the aircraft. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet was designed to be an upgrade to the existing F/A-18A/B/C/D multirole aircraft fleet. The programsought to increase the aircraft's range, payload, and survivability. The program was an outgrowth of a Secretary of Defense memorandum from July 1987, directing the Navy to investigate advanced versions of the F/A-18 for 2000 and beyond. The trade studies, known as Hornet 2000, led to a Milestone IV/II review in March 1992 to begin formal Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) of the program in July 1992.