Virginia lawmakers lobby for F-22 unit at Joint Base Langley-Eustis

Virginia lawmakers are urging the US Air Force (USAF) to station the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor flight and maintenance formal training units (FTUs) at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, from its home at Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB), Florida.

In a 14 February letter to USAF Secretary Heather Wilson, the lawmakers said the service is underutilising the base’s airspace and investment in ramp, hangar, and operation support facilities as it houses two F-22 squadrons while being built for three. They said moving this FTU to Joint Base Langley-Eustis would also provide a great opportunity to train with other fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft in the region.

The move would also improve availability rates, according to the lawmakers.

“Moving the F-22 FTU to Langley would advance one of the recommendations put forward by the Government Accountability Office regarding F-22 organisation: the need for consolidating the fleet into larger squadrons and/or wings in order to improve aircraft availability,” they said.

The USAF announced in December that it would study a new location for the F-22 FTU after its Tyndall AFB home was badly damaged by an October hurricane. The unit is temporarily based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.