The US Air Force began training student pilots of the F-22 Raptor in Virginia, 5 years after the destruction of Tyndall Air Force Base by Hurricane Michael

The U.S. Air Force has begun training student pilots to fly the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor fighter

The site was chosen after Hurricane Michael destroyed Tyndall BaseFlorida.

What is known

Hurricane Michael is a powerful Atlantictropical storm category 5. It hit Florida in October 2018. Water, mold and winds over 250 km/h caused irreversible damage, forcing the US Air Force to destroy part of the base.

Pilots and maintenance personnel moved toEglin Air Force Base, also located in Florida. In 2021, the US Air Force approved Langley Eustis as a permanent flight training facility for F-22 pilots.

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In March, the service began sending from Florida toVirginia F-22 aircraft. All staff will arrive by September. In addition, the Langley-Eustis base has two combat squadrons of fifth-generation fighters.