The Hawaii Air National Guard was waiting on orders Tuesday to see whether its F-22 Raptor fighters would be affected after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta imposed new flight restrictions — the latest setback for the costly and controversial jet.
The Pentagon said that effective immediately, all F-22 flights would remain within the "proximity" of potential landing locations to enable quick recovery and landing should a pilot experience hypoxialike symptoms, or not being able to get enough oxygen.
The Hawaii Air Guard and active-duty Air Force fly and maintain 14 of the stealthy jets at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, with the arrival of the six remaining Raptors to Hawaii — rounding out the squadron of 20 aircraft — delayed for unexplained reasons.
"I can’t tell you whether our planes will have to be on a shorter string or not," said Hawaii National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Chuck Anthony.
The Raptors, which are being used for pilot and maintenance training until the Hawaii unit builds up to full strength and becomes operational, routinely fly out to sea hundreds of miles, but because of their speed, can be back over Oahu in practically the blink of an eye, Anthony said.
The planes fly nearly daily in formations of two to five, Anthony said.
According to the news program "60 Minutes," which recently aired a segment about two Virginia Air National Guard pilots who stepped forward to discuss hypoxia incidents and concerns about the safety of the F-22, 36 of 200 Raptor pilots — or about 18 percent — have experienced problems.
Capt. Josh Wilson, one of those pilots, said he noticed issues on a flight in February 2011.
"Several times during the flight I had to really concentrate, immense concentration on doing just simple, simple tasks," he said. Wilson said he thinks the problem stems from not getting the quality or quantity of oxygen needed, or there is contamination in the air flow.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Tuesday that seven more airmen who work with the F-22, including flight surgeons, have come forward to report cases of hypoxialike symptoms, Air Force Times reported.
Warner and U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., asked the Air Force for a confidential survey of F-22 pilots.
"I want to give the Air Force their due," Warner said last week, "but I have grave concerns."
Anthony, the Hawaii National Guard spokesman, repeated that no pilots or ground crew members in Hawaii have reported problems. "No official complaints, no official incidents. That much I can say for sure," he said.
The Raptor, the Air Force’s most advanced fighter, is also the most expensive fighter jet ever, with a total program cost of $77.4 billion, or $412 million a plane with research and development and upgrades.
The Air Force has not been able to pinpoint the cause of the hypoxia, which began cropping up in 2008.
"It could be something connected to the oxygen system," acting Assistant Secretary of Defense George Little said Tuesday. "It could be other aspects of the aircraft that could contribute to hypoxialike events, whether it’s G-force (or) the altitude at which the plane flies."
The Air Force’s entire Raptor fleet was grounded twice in 2011 over hypoxia concerns, including a nearly five-month stand-down.
A number of changes have been tried, and the Air Force will expedite the installation of automatic backup oxygen systems on all the planes, the Pentagon said.
