F-22's destroyed by hurricane...WTH?

[Kraut783]

F-22s, QF-16 likely damaged after Tyndall hangars hit by hurricane

F-22s, QF-16 likely damaged after Tyndall hangars hit by hurricane

More Than a Dozen F-22s May Have Been Damaged or Destroyed by Hurricane Michael

More Than a Dozen F-22s May Have Been Damaged or Destroyed by Hurricane Michael

Man, I know they were grounded for maintenance issues.....but, damn, that is an expensive loss!

 

[Gunz]

155 mph sustained winds hit that base. Logistically impossible to move them.

 

[AWP]

Here's a great write-up on the why's.

Setting The Record Straight On Why Fighter Jets Can't All Simply Fly Away To Escape Storms

Even without this storm, the decision to end the -22 run at 187 airframes was beyond stupid. The things it can do beyond air-to-air plus their availability...very shortsighted.

 

[BloodStripe]

Maybe we shouldn't leave unworthy to fly, extremely important aircraft, in a hurricane prone area during hurricane season?

Im sure it would be a herculean effort to take off the wings to move them, but given that these birds will never again be made and they are damn good at their job, get the mechanics to do it and then give them all AFCM's.

 

[medicchick]

Maybe we shouldn't leave unworthy to fly, extremely important aircraft, in a hurricane prone area during hurricane season?

Im sure it would be a herculean effort to take off the wings to move them, but given that these birds will never again be made and they are damn good at their job, get the mechanics to do it and then give them all AFCM's.

Personal safety be damned!

 

[DA SWO]

Maybe we shouldn't leave unworthy to fly, extremely important aircraft, in a hurricane prone area during hurricane season?

Im sure it would be a herculean effort to take off the wings to move them, but given that these birds will never again be made and they are damn good at their job, get the mechanics to do it and then give them all AFCM's.

Maybe if Obama Administration had done a better job funding parts they wouldn't be hanger queens.
Do you have any idea how long it takes to disassemble a plane?

 

[BloodStripe]

Personal safety be damned!

Mission accomplishment before troop welfare.

 

[BloodStripe]

Maybe if Obama Administration had done a better job funding parts they wouldn't be hanger queens.
Do you have any idea how long it takes to disassemble a plane?

It's a mute point to argue your point about Obama. That ship has long sailed. We all know that Congress and the former POTUS set back the military due to funding. But, maybe if we stopped fighting people in mud huts and focused more on peer to peer or peer to near peer we would actually have money to repair and replace aircraft.

But to answer your question, I have no idea, but I'm willing to bet it's long and hard, hence why I said it would be a herculean effort.

 

[Cookie_]

Mission accomplishment before troop welfare.

Jesus, I'd hate to be your troops with thinking like that. It's not a combat environment here.
I'd rather trade a dozen or so planes than risk the life/limb of the almost 100+ personnel it would take to save the planes.

 

[SpitfireV]

I'm sure it was considered but I'm curious why they didn't just tow them into hangers or move less valuable aircraft out and them in.

 

[ThunderHorse]

I'm sure it was considered but I'm curious why they didn't just tow them into hangers or move less valuable aircraft out and them in.

If I read the WarZone article posted above correctly, they were jammed into the hangars and the hangars were basically destroyed.

 

[BloodStripe]

Jesus, I'd hate to be your troops with thinking like that. It's not a combat environment here.
I'd rather trade a dozen or so planes than risk the life/limb of the almost 100+ personnel it would take to save the planes.

Who said they would remain behind? Get the job done and go. They didn't even try. They just chalked it up and said F it.

 

[Cookie_]

Who said they would remain behind? Get the job done and go. They didn't even try. They just chalked it up and said F it.

Check out the article AWP linked earlier in the thread. The chances of getting these birds flight/transpo capable were slim to none.

 

[medicchick]

Who said they would remain behind? Get the job done and go. They didn't even try. They just chalked it up and said F it.

It takes about a week per wing to remove. What would that even accomplish? How are you going to move them? C-5? Gotta find enough that aren't busy. Ground? The body is so large they need escorts to shut down intersections so ground transport is out (remember everyone was evacing on the roads). I've seen all this in person when the NAS here moved a few in parts. It's not a quick process.

 

[Ranger Psych]

I'm sure it was considered but I'm curious why they didn't just tow them into hangers or move less valuable aircraft out and them in.

Hangars do not withstand hurricanes. Even so, the birds were hangared in the hope it would help.

 

[Grunt]

Just short of flying them out due to their location, there wasn't much that could have been done in order to prevent them from being destroyed. The place got hammered...

 

[BloodStripe]

It takes about a week per wing to remove. What would that even accomplish? How are you going to move them? C-5? Gotta find enough that aren't busy. Ground? The body is so large they need escorts to shut down intersections so ground transport is out (remember everyone was evacing on the roads). I've seen all this in person when the NAS here moved a few in parts. It's not a quick process.

I get that it's a monumental challenge, especially with regards to security, but from an outsider looking in, they seemed to have no plan at all.

 

[AWP]

If it takes a week per wing, and who knows what else, who has a solid hurricane forecast 14 days out? Even 5 days?

During WWII, it took about two weeks to assemble a plane from crates. That's 2 weeks with experienced, properly trained mechanics. Popping a wing is a depot-level task, so how many of those folks are available, with equipment, to pull that off in 5 days, much less 3 once the storm's track is better known? It sucks 20 ways from Sunday that this happened, but it was unavoidable. Short of moving them to the midwest (tornadoes), Cali (earthquakes), you're left with someplace like Luke or Robbins that are relatively safe. Both of those bases are saturated, but this may be a great time to re-evaluate where the -22's are kept and maintained.

 

[Totentanz]

I get that it's a monumental challenge, especially with regards to security, but from an outsider looking in, they seemed to have no plan at all.

It's worth noting a little fact not being covered/discussed - USAF did, in fact, evac capable aircraft. I'll go out on a limb and assume that if it could fly, it left, and those remaining were the aircraft that weren't capable of departing. The whole story is being discussed as if everyone just said "fuck it" and walked away, which is an incredibly narrow view of the situation (if it's not deliberately ignoring the rest of the picture to create a much more sensational story).

Aircraft displaced by Hurricane Michael coming to WPAFB

 

[BloodStripe]

Understood, all flyable aircraft were evacuated and unflyable ones were tied down. All non mission essential personnel were also evacuated. ACK all. But what I want to know as a tax payer is what steps were taken to and get those birds out of town.