US stealth fighters in show of force to China

FULLER VERSION OF MY TIMES STORY TODAY The US is sending the largest-ever formation of stealth fighters to the Indo-Pacific region for an exercise to demonstrate America’s ability to operate in China’s self-declared area of military domination. Twenty-five of the US Air Force’s fifth-generation F-22A Raptor stealth fighters, as well as ten F-15E Strike Eagles, are being deployed to take part in Operation Pacific Iron starting this month. They will operate from a remote airstrip on the US island territory of Guam rather than the main Andersen air force base, and from Tinian, one of three Northern Mariana islands from where the US launched the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Guam would be vulnerable to attack by China’s on-shore ballistic missiles in the event of a conflict. As part of the Pentagon’s 2018 national defence strategy which called for the military to be more adaptive and resilient, the aim will be to show that America’s most sophisticated fighter aircraft can operate from less obvious, more remote airstrips in the region. US Pacific air forces based in Hawaii said 800 airmen would be involved in simulated combat flight operations from “local airports” in Guam and Tinian. The deployment of 25 Raptors which together with the F-35 joint strike fighters are the most technically advanced fighter aircraft in the US Air Force, is expected to be closely monitored by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). China also has stealth fighters. The PLA already has the J-20 fighter whose design looks similar to the F-22A. The J-20 entered service in 2017. Prototypes of a second stealth fighter, the FC-31, have appeared at air shows and is expected to be developed as a carrier-borne fighter. The F-22A which entered service in December 2005 is a supersonic , dual-engine stealth fighter. There are 183 in service. Raptors have frequently deployed to the Indo-Pacific but never before in such large numbers, a sign of the Pentagon’s increasing determination to show Beijing America’s ability to project military firepower at short notice.