The U.S. Air Force officially announced that the F-22A raptor is ready to conduct air to ground missions today. While the F-22 may have moved it's "A" from the front to the back of its designation, it has kept all of its attack capabilities, adding value to an already impressive aircraft.

The 1st Fighter Wing held a ceremony on January 13th at Langley AFB to celebrate the F-22A Raptor's initial operational capability. The event comes after the 27th Fighter Squadron was officially declared IOC on Dec. 15 by Gen. Ronald E. Keys, commander of Air Combat Command.

With the F-22A's initial operational capability declaration Dec. 15 came the capstone of a process that began 76 months earlier, in August 1997, when a C-5 Galaxy landed at Edwards AFB and taxied down the expansive "Contractor's Row" with several crates and boxes in its cargo bay for what is now known as the F-22A Combined Test Force.

The F-22A Raptor - Air Force's most advanced weapon system - is ready for combat, Air Force officials announced at Langley AFB today. In reaching initial operational capability, the Raptor is certified ready for operational use.

According to published reports, the US Air Force may freeze development of upgrades to the F-22 Raptor to afford more of the new fighter jets.

Pratt & Whitney has delivered the 200th F119 engine, the world's most advanced engine currently in production. To date, 56 F/A-22 Raptors have been delivered to the United States Air Force, each powered by two Pratt & Whitney F119 engines.

The U.S. Air Force plans to change the designation of the F/A-22 Raptor to "F-22A" in the near future according to an article on DefenseNews.com.

The F/A-22 Raptor, traveling faster than the speed of sound, dropped a 1,000-pound guided Joint Directed Attack Munition over the Edwards range Dec. 1.

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $2.9 billion fixed-price contract by the U.S. Air Force for continued production of F/A-22 aircraft through November 2007.

F-22A Raptors based at Tyndall AFB took part in an exercise with other aircraft for the first time. The exercise known as "War Day" simulated the defense of a high value target by F-15 Eagles and, for the first time, F-22A Raptors against a numerically superior enemy force made up of Air National Guard F-16 Vipers and a QF-4 Phantom drone.

By now, most people know the F/A-22 Raptor is a lean, mean fighting machine. But what about the people who fly it and fix it? What's it like to know your work, your aircraft, your mission, is to provide American air dominance for decades to come?

When 1,000 pounds of steel and concrete fell a mile and smashed through the back of a truck, it ushered in a new era for the 1st Fighter Wing -- the return of air-to-ground combat. That mission ended in 1975 for the wing.

The familiar sound of flying Raptors will soon fill the Virginia skies again. The 27th Fighter Squadron returns to Langley AFB on Oct. 28 from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, ending two weeks of out-of-town training and bringing the first-ever deployment for the F/A-22 Raptor to a close.

Approximately 150 Airmen from the 27th Fighter Squadron of the 1st Fighter Wing from Langley AFB, Va. arrived at Hill AFB Saturday with the Air Force's newest fighter, the F/A-22 Raptor.

The Raptors are leaving the nest for their first deployment. Nearly 170 Airmen left here Oct. 15 on a two-week deployment to Hill Air Force Base, Utah. This may sound like a run-of-the-mill temporary duty assignment. But for the Langley Airmen, it is far from a typical out-of-town operation.