Tyndall AFB a "complete loss" amid questions about F-22s

[hoghandler]

Kinda hard to put a plane in the air if its torn apart for phase inspections or hard broke. Only the flyable aircraft are sent out. Those down for maintenance reasons are worked on to get flyable if possible. The ones deemed unflyable are secured. They try to get what they can out of danger.

[durahawk]

Kinda hard to put a plane in the air if its torn apart for phase inspections or hard broke. Only the flyable aircraft are sent out. Those down for maintenance reasons are worked on to get flyable if possible. The ones deemed unflyable are secured. They try to get what they can out of danger.

Or MICAP. There is nothing you can do if the part you need is not available in the supply system. I'm sure the AMU did the best they could to get as many Raptors out as they could. Including one time ferry flight waivers.

In hindsight, maybe having over a quarter of the nation's F-22 fleet at one base in a prime hurricane zone without hardened shelters was never a great idea in the first place.

[madrat]

Seems like BRAC did quite a lot of concentrating valuable resources.

[durahawk]

Sad news indeed. Reminds me of Homestead after Andrew. Word on the street is Elgin or Moody until things are sorted out concerning Tyndall’s fate. My guess would be a Moody as Elgin already has a full plate. We will see

Tailgate

Maybe, it wouldn’t be far from the overwater range. I don’t remember Moody being a very big base though.

Rethinking it, Holloman will probably be on the short list. They have decently sized airspace and have had Raptors there before.

[madrat]

What could they do with Hurlbert?

Related news
https://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20181 ... all-runway

[durahawk]

From the article: “The base serves a critical role in protecting and promoting U.S. national security interests and it is vital that we rapidly repair infrastructure and restore operations in the wake of the storm”

Lol... Florida congresscritters are about to find out first hand that the lathargic, three-headed sloth model of inefficency known as milcon is anything but rapid.

[weasel1962]

AF mag puts slightly more than a dozen F-22s were still at the base. Not unreasonable considering %MC rates.

http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pag ... epair.aspx

[krieger22]

Secretary of the Air Force has a statement out: https://twitter.com/oriana0214/status/1 ... 89856?s=21

TONIGHT: Our maintenance professionals will do a detailed assessment of F-22s @TeamTyndall before we can say w certainty that damaged aircraft can be repaired/sent back into the skies...Damage was less than we feared and preliminary indications are promising.

[Siesta]

Kinda hard to put a plane in the air if its torn apart for phase inspections or hard broke. Only the flyable aircraft are sent out. Those down for maintenance reasons are worked on to get flyable if possible. The ones deemed unflyable are secured. They try to get what they can out of danger.

Or MICAP. There is nothing you can do if the part you need is not available in the supply system. I'm sure the AMU did the best they could to get as many Raptors out as they could. Including one time ferry flight waivers.

In hindsight, maybe having over a quarter of the nation's F-22 fleet at one base in a prime hurricane zone without hardened shelters was never a great idea in the first place.

We could say that about Langley for the Hurricane as well... remember two weeks prior to this storm they were facing a Cat 4. Hardened shelters are good for the wind and rain but don't forget that the tidal surge and flooding also caused the damage. Some of those hangers are rated for up to a CAT 3. This storm when revisited probably went to a CAT 5. You also have to worry about when the power will be back on.. your jets will be stuck in that shelter. Hardened shelters were built during the cold war and are mainly overseas and designed to withstand certain bombs.. though desert storm changed that. It doesnt stop flooding because that happened at Osan.. 3 foot high waters flooded the flight line. Remember this is mother nature.

[krieger22]

More from Mattis:

https://twitter.com/oriana0214/status/1 ... 69568?s=21

https://twitter.com/oriana0214/status/1 ... 11746?s=21

TONIGHT FROM MATTIS: "Right now the initial review yesterday by @SecAFOfficial, coming on 48 hours due by Air Combat Command...looks like all the planes are fixable. But we'll know after we get the hangars - get them out of the hangars that're damaged and get more work done. ...

...So I'm not ready to say it can all be fixed, but our initial review was perhaps more positive than I anticipated in the last -- in light of the amount of damage."

[mixelflick]

More from Mattis:

https://twitter.com/oriana0214/status/1 ... 69568?s=21

https://twitter.com/oriana0214/status/1 ... 11746?s=21

TONIGHT FROM MATTIS: "Right now the initial review yesterday by @SecAFOfficial, coming on 48 hours due by Air Combat Command...looks like all the planes are fixable. But we'll know after we get the hangars - get them out of the hangars that're damaged and get more work done. ...

...So I'm not ready to say it can all be fixed, but our initial review was perhaps more positive than I anticipated in the last -- in light of the amount of damage."

That's oddly worded. Is he waffling now on all being fixable? Somebody is going to catch hell for this. I realize planes can't fly if awaiting parts etc, but c'mon. Florida and hurricanes aren't exactly new...

[zero-one]

Florida and hurricanes aren't exactly new...

Exactly.
They were probably thinking, Hurricane Michael would be just one of the dozens they go through every year.

[rocketeer61]

Riddle me this: after Homestead was wiped out by a hurricane, why on [i]Earth[i]would the Air Force be doing maintenance on our most expensive jet just down the road? 17 wrecked Raptors later, here's your sign.

[madrat]

It's all about the votes

[weasel1962]

Tyndall is more than 700 km away from Homestead. How many states aren't hit by hurricanes, tornadoes or some other natural extreme weather.