* 2005 – Introduction of the F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.

The 49 FTS and 435 FTS conducted an advanced pilot training and the Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals ( IFF ) course for recently winged USAF Navigator / Combat Systems Officers en route to Weapons System Officer ( WSO ) assignments in the F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft and recently winged pilots en route to the F-22 Raptor, F-15C / D Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and A-10 Thunderbolt II.

This had been under development by an Atlantic Research / Alliant Techsystems team for ten years but the USAF had no plans at that time, to develop an extended range AMRAAM since this could endanger support for the stealthy F-22 Raptor.

* 22 is the designation of the USAF stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor.

USAF fighters, such as the F-15 and F-16, tend to favor higher speeds, because of their emphasis on high power-to-weight ratio and low wing-loading ; although the F-22 has supermaneuverability with its own vectored thrust.

A USAF F-22 Raptor, a Stealth aircraft | stealth Fifth-generation jet fighter | fifth generation air superiority fighter

The event has had a number of air show firsts, including the first display and landing of the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber outside the United States of America during the 1997 " 50 Years of the USAF " event and in 2008 the first landing of the Lockheed F-22 Raptor in Europe.

* USAF F-22 Raptor

The Air National Guard provides a fully equipped USAF Crash Fire Rescue station to augment the airport's own fire department for both on-airport structural fires and aircraft rescue and fire fighting ( ARFF ) purposes.

A USAF F-106A Delta Dart from the California Air National Guard fires the AIR-2 Genie nuclear rocket.

Six Serbian MiG-29 were shot down by NATO ( 4 USAF F-15C, 1 USAF F-16C, 1 Dutch F-16A MLU ), all of them using AIM-120 missiles ( the kill by the F-16C may have happened due to friendly fire, from SA-7 MANPAD fired by Serbian infantry ).

The AMRAAM was used for the first time on 27 December 1992, when a USAF F-16D shot down an Iraqi MiG-25 that violated the southern no-fly-zone.

AMRAAM gained a second victory in January 1993 when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down by a USAF F-16C.

The third combat use of the AMRAAM was in 1994, when a Republika Srpska Air Force J-21 Jastreb aircraft was shot down by a USAF F-16C that was patrolling the UN-imposed no-fly-zone over Bosnia.

Since 2007 Raytheon has continued to slip on AMRAAM deliveries, leading the USAF to withhold $ 621 million in 2012 on account of 193 missiles not delivered.

A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor | F-22 Raptor fires an AIM-120 AMRAAM

The player has access to some of the real world weapons system of the F-22, including the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM Air-to-air missiles, as well as a 20mm cannon and the Joint Direct Attack Munition ( JDAM ) for ground attack.

The AMRAAM is also usable by a wide variety of fighter planes, including the F-4, F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22, Panavia Tornado, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-35 Lightning II, Swedish-made fighters, and ground-based launchers of the U. S. Army.

The Phoenix and its associated Tomcat radar, the AWG-9 was capable of multiple track and launch capability, which was unique to the Tomcat / Phoenix until the advent of AMRAAM in 1991. A MiG-29 Fulcrum fires a AA-10 " Alamo ".

It remains in service, although it is being phased out in aviation applications in favor of the more advanced AIM-120 AMRAAM.

Sparrow is now being phased out with the availability of the active-radar AIM-120 AMRAAM, but is likely to remain in service for several years.

The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM ( pronounced " am-ram "), is a modern beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile ( BVRAAM ) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations.

As of mid 2008, the AIM-120 AMRAAM has shot down nine aircraft ( six MiG-29s, one MiG-25, one MiG-23, and one Soko J-21 Jastreb ).

* Raytheon: AIM-120 AMRAAM

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F-16 carrying an AIM-120 AMRAAM ( top ), AIM-9 Sidewinder ( middle ) and AGM-88 HARM

As part of a Winston No Bull 5 fan contest, Earnhardt drives a Bomb Lift Truck and attempts to load an AIM-120 AMRAAM | AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile ( AMRAAM ) missile as he competes in a load crew competition at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, September 2000.