Washington, DC – Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) and Representatives Glenn Nye (D-VA), Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Rob Wittman (R-VA) this week requested a Virginia delegation staff briefing on Air Force plans for future basing of the F-22 Raptor aircraft fleet. In a letter to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Virginia lawmakers emphasized that Langley Air Force Base (LAFB) in Hampton is a “world-class installation” with the excess operational capacity to support increased numbers of the F-22.

The Air Force recently announced that it conducted an “enterprise-wide look” to ensure its review of all basing options for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was conducted objectively, transparently, and in a defensible way. The members advocated a similar approach be taken when assessing basing options for the F-22. Basing decisions for the F-35 aircraft, coupled with the retirement of older Air Force tactical aircraft reaching the end of their service lives, have led the Air Force to seek ways to manage and maximize the effective use of its comparatively small fleet of F-22s for both training and combat operations.

As the members stressed in their letter, Langley Air Force Base will soon see the retirement of an assigned F-15 squadron, resulting in the loss of 399 military jobs from an area that has already been hit hard by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decisions. Only 36 F-22 Raptors will be stationed at Langley after the drawdown, “so Langley clearly has excess operational capacity and modern facilities specifically constructed for the F-22 Raptor.”

“The consolidation of this critical national asset at one of the premier fighter bases in the Air Force would vastly improve efficiencies in maintenance and operations of the overall fleet, as well as allow the Active and Air National Guard components to continue to work together at LAFB to support homeland defense and overseas contingency missions.”