Lockheed engineers will determine the fate of the F-22s ravaged by Hurricane Michael at Tyndall Air Base

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/loc...HPl?li=BBnbfcL

The F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets left behind at Tyndall Air Base, which was
devastated by Hurricane Michael's rampage across Florida, will be inspected by
Lockheed Martin structural engineers.
Tyndall Air Base serves as a critical training and maintenance ground for about
50 F-22s, or nearly a third of all of the ultra-capable, ultra-expensive air
superiority jets.

Initial reports indicated as many as 17 of the stealth jets, worth over $1
billion, had been damaged, but newer assessments say the damage was much less
severe, and the planes can likely be salvaged.
Some of the F-22s made it out, but with the US's top F-22 training grounds wiped
nearly off the map, it's unclear when the US's top fighter will get back on
track.

The F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets left behind at Tyndall Air Base when
Hurricane Michael damaged or destroyed virtually every building on site will be
visited by structural engineers from Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor
tweeted.

Tyndall Air Base serves as a critical training and maintenance ground for about
50 F-22s, or nearly a third of all of the world's most capable air superiority
jets near Panama City, Florida, Dallas News, who first reported the story, said.

Hurricane Michael hit Tyndall with unexpected force and sooner than expected,
and the Air Force left some of the jets, which cost in the hundreds of millions
apiece, behind in the base's most hardened hangars.

But the storm proved historically powerful, and images of the aftermath show the
hangars torn open. Initial assessments said that up to 17 of the planes had been
destroyed, but top US Air Force officials later visited the base and said the
damage wasn't as bad as first thought.

While the Air Force still won't share how many F-22s were left behind, or how
bad they were damaged by the storm, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sounded hopeful
on Tuesday.

"I'm not ready to say it can all be fixed, but our initial review was perhaps
more positive than I anticipated ... in light of the amount of damage," Mattis
said, as the Air Force Times notes.

The Air Force did manage to relocate a number of air-worthy F-22s before the
storm, and they've returned to training stealth pilots in the world's most
capable combat plane. The limited run of F-22s, their stealth shaping and
coating, and rare parts make repairing them a costly endeavor.

But with Tyndall all but wiped off the map by Michael, it remains unclear when
the US's top fighter jet will get back on track.



*