Alaska-based Raptors show off combat power during Polar Force drills
Stars and Stripes
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March 27, 2019
F-22 Raptors participate in an elephant walk with an E-3 Sentry and a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Wednesday, March 26, 2019 (Justin Connaher/U.S. Air Force)
F-22 Raptors participate in an elephant walk with an E-3 Sentry and a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Wednesday, March 26, 2019 (Justin Connaher/U.S. Air Force)
An F-22 Raptor takes off from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, after an elephant walk, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (Justin Connaher/U.S. Air Force)
An F-22 Raptor takes off from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, after an elephant walk, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (Justin Connaher/U.S. Air Force)
F-22 Raptors participate in an elephant walk with an E-3 Sentry and a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Wednesday, March 26, 2019. (Justin Connaher/U.S. Air Force)
F-22 Raptors participate in an elephant walk with an E-3 Sentry and a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Wednesday, March 26, 2019. (Justin Connaher/U.S. Air Force)
F-22 Raptors participate in an elephant walk with an E-3 Sentry and a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Wednesday, March 26, 2019. (Courtesy of U.S. Air Force)
Twenty-four F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, a C-17 Globemaster III transport and an E-3 Sentry early warning aircraft “elephant walked” the flight line Tuesday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, in a display of combat power.
The maneuver calls for aircraft to taxi en masse for a fast group take-off.
Photographs of the close-formation taxi were posted on Facebook by Air Force officials who said the display was part of Polar Force, a two-week exercise giving squadrons a chance to demonstrate their ability to forward deploy and deliver overwhelming combat airpower.
The F-22s are part of the 3rd Wing and 477th Fighter Group, both affiliated with Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.