FRIDAY FOTO (April 9, 2021)

Still Snowy in April.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rebeckah Medeiros)

U.S Air Force F-22 Raptors from the 199th Fighter Squadron fly alongside an Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker (the wing on the left) from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron during ighter training near iconic Mount Fuji, Japan, on April 1, 2021.

The F-22 Raptors are the first to combine supercruise, supermaneuverability, radar-avoiding stealth and sensor fusion in a single weapons platform. These Raptors operate out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, to support the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

The F-22 is considered a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, meaning it includes major technologies developed during the first part of the 21st century. As of 2021 these are the most advanced fighters in operation. In addition to the Lockheed Martin F-22, which entered service with the U.S. Air Force in December 2005 they include: Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II, which began with the USAF in July 2015; the Chengdu J-20, which joined China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in September 2017, and the Sukhoi Su-57, which entered service with the Russian Air Force in December 2020.

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