RICHMOND, Va. (AFPN) -- The Virginia Air National Guard's 192nd Fighter Wing has become the first Air National Guard unit in the country to fly the F-22 Raptor. The transition from the F-16 Fighting Falcon to the F-22 took place June 20.
More than 20 pilots in the wing are trained to fly the F-22 and a growing number of the wing's full-time and traditional status Air Guardsmen are working at Langley Air Force Base, Va., changing the face of the Virginia ANG. Langley is home to the active-duty 1st Fighter Wing, the first Air Force unit to fly the F-22.
"After 16 years of flying the F-16, which included training missions, combat in Iraq and combat air patrols over Washington, D.C, we have three new, exciting opportunities at Langley," said Col. Jay Pearsall, 192nd FW commander. "The 192nd will associate with the active duty's 1st Fighter Wing F-22 Raptor mission, the 480 Intel Wing's distributed ground station imagery analysis mission and the Combat Air Force logistic support center."