Falcons To Raptors

The 192nd Fighter Wing closed out its sixteen-year history flying the F-16 Fighting Falcon with a final four-ship training mission from its base at Richmond International Airport on 20 June. The Virginia Air National Guard unit then officially began operations as a Guard Associate unit at Langley AFB, in Hampton, Virginia, flying the F-22 Raptor. More than twenty 192nd FW pilots are now trained to fly the F-22. A growing number of the wing's full-time and traditional Air Guardsmen are now working at Langley, which is home to the active duty 1st Fighter Wing, the first Air Force combat unit to fly the F-22.