The Raptors will take over the mission from the F-15Es which have been deployed there since final November.

The NATO Allied Air Command confirmed on April 12, 2023, that F-22 Raptors arrived at Powidz Air Base in Poland for a brand new scheduled plane rotation alongside NATO’s Jap Flank. That is the second time the F-22s deploy to Europe in lower than a 12 months, following the latest deployment from August to December 2022 at Łask Air Base, Poland.

The Raptors are assigned to the 94th Fighter Squadron from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and exchange the F-15E Strike Eagle detachment of the forty eighth Fighter Wing from RAF Lakenheath which was deployed at Łask Air Base since November. The Raptor detachment was expected to begin operations on April 6, nonetheless the fighters arrived in Europe later than anticipated.

In reality, as reported by Key.Aero, the plane tried to cross the North Atlantic on April 6 and April 7, however for unknown causes the Atlantic crossing solely occurred on the third try on April 8. Additionally, there are conflicting studies of whether or not eight or 9 jets accomplished the journey after numerous the 12 deliberate (TREND 31 and TREND 41, every supposedly fabricated from 6 Raptors) didn’t make the crossing. The period of the plane rotation has not been disclosed.

Actually not the very best quality. However tremendous particular to see a gaggle of F-22 flying over your own home. This was the 2nd group consisting of three plane. In distinction to the group in entrance, they flew at solely 27,000 ft and have been due to this fact even higher seen throughout twilight #NLspot pic.twitter.com/rojQPtqX7s

— Ruben Hofs (@rubenhofs) April 13, 2023

The deployment of Raptors in Poland final week was confirmed right now by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Nationwide Protection Mariusz Błaszczak in social media:

W Polsce wylądowały amerykańskie myśliwce F-22 Raptor. Jedne z najnowocześniejszych samolotów świata będą współdziałać z polskimi pilotami kontynuując wsparcie na wschodniej flance Sojuszu. pic.twitter.com/juIkXe9rcg

— Mariusz Błaszczak (@mblaszczak) April 11, 2023

As a part of U.S. European Command’s plan to bolster collective protection posture and Allied integration, the Raptors will work alongside the Polish Air Drive supporting a spread of missions within the Baltic and Black Sea areas, in accordance with a brief assertion launched by the NATO Air Command on social medias. The command didn’t launch any photo or other statements about the F-22s since their arrival.

.@usairforce 🇺🇸F-22 Raptors have arrived to Powidz Air Base 🇵🇱 as a part of a scheduled plane rotation alongside #NATO’s Jap Flank

The fifth technology fighters will work alongside the Polish Air Drive supporting a spread of missions within the Baltic & Black Sea area pic.twitter.com/xNKsuq4ZJ5

— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) April 12, 2023

In the course of the 2022 deployment, the Raptors travelled to varied areas throughout Europe to help workouts, Agile Fight Employment and different multi-national training events, and the identical is anticipated to occur additionally throughout this deployment. Ought to the deployment final till this summer season, it’s extremely possible that the F-22 will participate to Air Defender 2023, one of many largest workouts deliberate this 12 months.

The German-led, multinational train will deal with operational and tactical-level discipline coaching, primarily held in Germany, with ahead working areas within the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia, from June 12 to 23. There shall be 23 plane varieties among the many approximately 220 participating aircraft, with almost 100 of those plane coming from greater than 40 Air Nationwide Guard models, marking Air Defender ‘23 as the most important Air Drive deployment train since NATO was based.

Stefano D’Urso is a contract journalist and contributor to TheAviationist based mostly in Lecce, Italy. A graduate in Industral Engineering he is additionally learning to realize a Grasp Diploma in Aerospace Engineering. Digital Warfare, Loitering Munitions and OSINT methods utilized to the world of army operations and present conflicts are amongst his areas of experience.