In a new solicitation, the Air Force states it could put a company under contract in fiscal 2023 to make the first two prototype E-3 replacement airplanes.
The Rapid Raptor program is designed to ensure that at least four F-22 jets can attack anywhere on an urgent, fast-strike basis across the globe with ready crew, C-17 Globemaster III support, and fuel and weapons.
Rapid Raptors: The F-22 Can Take on China Like No Other Warplane Can nationalinterest.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nationalinterest.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Placing an F-22 jet potentially three hundred miles closer to a point of attack, as was done in this exercise, decreases the potential need for refueling, massively decreases time to attack.