8th Fighter Squadron flagship F-22 - HO 04-0077
Lt. Col Craig 'Bluto' Baker, 8th Fighter Squadron CO.
Posted on 12/24/2009 2:44:05 PM PST by myknowledge
The 8th Fighter Squadron received their first of 20 F-22 Raptors on the afternoon of December 21.
The arrival of 8th FS flagship, a Langley AFB Raptor -- which came from maintenance in Palmdale, Calif. -- starts the next chapter of the "Black Sheep's" storied history that started in 1941 when the squadron was assigned to the 49th Pursuit Group, where during World War II, their pilots amassed 207 aerial victories.
"Air dominance," said Lt. Col. Craig "Bluto" Baker, 8th FS commander, relating how the F-22 fits into Holloman's history. "The F-22 builds on what previous generations of air superiority fighters have established in the 8th -- a positive kill ratio. The 5th generation F-22 is far superior to any enemy aircraft today. U.S. Air Force pilots, the F-22 and its psychological effects all contribute to maintain that positive kill ratio [which is] a must to gaining and maintaining air superiority."
Col. Baker assumed command of the squadron Sept. 25 after a brief period of inactivity. The 8th has not had any aircraft assigned to it since the F-117 retired in April 2008. The pilots and maintainers will work hand-in-hand with the 7th Fighter Squadron as a "super squadron" until the "Screamin' Demons" of the 7th deploy next summer. When that happens the squadrons roles will reverse.
Working together with Lt. Col. Mike "Pigpen" Hernandez, 7th FS commander, as a super squadron has ran like a well-oiled machine since the two commanders have a history of working together.
"Pigpen and I have worked together since 1999 ... so luckily our policies, our thoughts, our tactics and opinions generally fall in line together," said Colonel Baker. "His opinions for the squadron are the ones that I share so it makes it relatively easy."
The 7th and 8th FS have been working together since 1941, so none of this is new to the "Screamin' Demons" or the "Black Sheep."
The nickname, the "Black Sheep," dates back to 1943, when the 49th Fighter Group was transitioning from the P-47 Thunderbolt to the P-38 Lightning. The 8th was the last of the three squadrons to receive the P-38 aircraft and pilots began calling them "The Black Sheep." The name has remained through various conflicts, base changes and airframe changes.
Previously, the 8th flew such diverse aircraft as the F-117, F-15, F-4, F-80, P-51 and P-38.
8th Fighter Squadron flagship F-22 - HO 04-0077
Lt. Col Craig 'Bluto' Baker, 8th Fighter Squadron CO.
What a beauty.
Reid and Pelosi will be sure to get rid of them next.
That’s why 2010 is so important. We can keep that line open if we can take back Congress.
We’ll put that back in the appropriations bill for the military, and force the dimwit to sign it.
We have got to get rid of Gates, he wanted to kill the F-22 before Obambi got elected.
You won’t get any argument from me.
People that can’t handle the big decisions, need to find a new job.
This is a military masterpiece, any way you slice it. Not only should it be produce in figures at least double what they plan on, we should keep the production line open beyond that for future replacements.
(That may be realistically impossible, but I’d sure like to see a workaround if possible, so that something like this could be accomplished.)
This is one remarkable achievement.
A beauty indeed.
49th FW and 7th FS flagship F-22 Raptors.
Keep the line open and figure out how to get their readiness rate above 62%.
Nice
Please refresh my memory as to what that problem was. Flight surfaces? I’ve forgotten.
It’s the paint and taping the gaps on the flight surfaces. It is a truely great plane when it is flying though. No slurs are intended for the ground crews. They do a great job. It just takes a lot of work to make it really the great plane that it is.
That’s just it.... The F-22 is so much better than the f-35 it is incredible. My info didn’t come from the Wash. post. The problem lies with the oppositon aircraft is very good. They could build a lot of cheap planes and have them flying, while our hanger queens can kill 3-4 at a time.
Don’t forget, we only have 187. By the way, I like the F-22, but quanity does count.
As I understand it, China does have the numbers. Are you saying we only have enough armament to take out four aircraft at range before replenishing munitions.
If not we could pick off a fair amount before they got in tight.
It also seems like we could supplement with F-35s to round out our full contingent. That way the F-22s would take on the most capable enemy targets.
F-22s carry 6 missiles. Then it’s a gunfight. The stealthy characteristics and the radar give the edge.
Sadly, that was about what I figured the count would be.
One thing that they have that will help, is the ability to exit stage left at an incredible rate.
Yes, that stealth and radar are great assets, but at extreme numbers, you’re right to express concern.
Merry Christmas to you. I’ll be looking for your posts later today. Take care.
Merry Christmas to you and yours also.
Thank you.
Actually, then can carry up to 10 (6 x AIM-120C/D AMRAAMs, 4 x AIM-9X Sidewinders, 2 in each side bay), along with 480 rounds of 20mm for its M61A2 Vulcan.
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