Stealth fighters stop at Hickam en route to Japan | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Stealth fighters stop at Hickam en route to Japan | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted at 10:43 p.m., Thursday, January 8, 2009

STEALTH AND AWE
Stealth fighters stop at Hickam en route to Japan

Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Lt. Gen. Chip Utterback, 13th Air Force commander, talks to media gathered at Hickam Air Force Base today to cover the stopover there of 12 F-22 Raptor fighter planes like the one at rear. The fighters are bound for Kadena, Japan, as part of the U.S. Pacific Command’s regional security presence.

RICHARD AMBO | The Honolulu Advertiser

Twelve F-22A Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Va., stopped over at Hickam Air Force Base Thursday on their way to Japan.

The Raptor is the Air Force's most advanced weapons system. It can can reach supersonic speed without afterburners, is highly maneuverable and is almost invisible to radar.

The first two of 20 Raptor fighters that will eventually be based at Hickam are expected to arrive in Hawai'i in June 2010, the military has said.

The stealth fighters will replace aging F-15 Eagles at Hickam.

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