The F-22A Raptor is an Awesome Machine, But This Video Captures its Sheer Beauty as Well
The video was shot during a demonstration of the Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor fighter by pilot USAF Major Joshua ‘Cabo’ Gunderson at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska during July of 2020. The footage was captured from the open door of a Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter hovering at approximately 3,000 feet using a Phantom Flex4K camera shooting at a blistering 1000 frames per second (FPS)! The video was uploaded to YouTube by Dustin Farrell. Enjoy!
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The Raptor Today
The Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor entered service with the US Air Force in December of 2005 but did not achieve full operational capacity until two years later. F-22As equip Air Force Fighter Squadrons as well as Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units. The 187 operational F-22As are operated by a total of 12 squadrons. The F-22A flown in the video, F-22A Block 30 Air Force Serial Number 07-4139, was delivered to the 90th Fighter Squadron (FS) Dicemen of the 3rd Operations Group of the 3rd Wing, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) in March of 2009.
The Dicemen: More Than 100 Years of Distinguished Service
The 90th Fighter Squadron (FS) Dicemen is one of the oldest squadrons in the United States Air Force. The squadron was first created as the 90th Aero Squadron on 20 August 1917 at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas. The squadron deployed to France and fought on the Western Front during World War I as a Corps observation squadron. During World War II, the unit earned the Distinguished Unit Citation and the Presidential Unit Citation for its services in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) while flying Douglas A-20 Havocs and North American B-25 Mitchell bombers as part of Fifth Air Force. The 90th Bombardment Squadron was one of the units that pioneered the use of their medium bomber aircraft as commerce-destroying strafers. During the Cold War the squadron fought in the Korean War and Vietnam War.
Bonus Video
This awesome video of USAF pilot Major Joshua ‘Cabo’ Gunderson explaining the maneuvers he flies in the Raptor was uploaded to YouTube by F-22 Demo Team.
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The Genesis of the 90th
Aircraft flown by the 90th Fighter Squadron over their more than 100 years of existence include the Sopwith 1½ Strutter (1918), the Salmson 2A2, (1918–1919), the SPAD S.XI (1918–1919), the Breguet 14 A.2 (1918–1919), the de Havilland DH-4 (1919–1932), the Boeing GA-1 (1921–1922), the Douglas O-2 (1921–1928), the Curtiss A-3 Falcon (1928–1934), the Curtiss O-1 Falcon (1920s – early 1930s), the Thomas-Morse-Jefferies XO-6 (1920s – early 1930s), the Curtiss A-8 Shrike (1920s – early 1930s), the Curtiss A-12 Shrike (1933–1936), the Northrop A-17 Nomad (1936–1939), the Curtiss A-18 Shrike (1939–1941), the Douglas B-18 Bolo (1939–1941), the Martin B-12 (1939–1940).
Service Through the 20th Century and Beyond
Aircraft flown by the 90th during and after World War II include the Douglas A-20 Havoc (1941, 1943–1945), the Douglas A-24 Banshee (the Army’s Douglas SBD Dauntless, 1941, 1942), the North American B-25 Mitchell (1942–1944, 1945), the Douglas A-26/B-26 Invader (1945–1949, 1951–1956), the Consolidated B-24 Liberator (1944–1946), the Martin B-57 Canberra (1956–1964), the North American F-100 Super Sabre (1964–1969), the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly (1969–1970), the Fairchild C-123 Provider (1970–1972), the Lockheed C-130 Hercules (1970–1972), the McDonnell Douglas F-4D and F-4E Phantom II (1973–1991), the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle (1994–2007), and the Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor (2007 – present).
