page_title: 49th Wing
section_title: Raptor operations
hierarchical_section_title: 49th Wing / History / Holloman Air Force Base / Raptor operations
caption_attribution_description: English: HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE N.M. – An F-22 Raptor taxis through the canyon during a Phase One Operational Readiness Exercise Feb. 29. The F-22 is a fifth-generation fighter jet. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Colin Cates/Released)
context_page_description: The 49th Wing is a remotely piloted vehicle wing of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to Nineteenth Air Force, Air Education and Training Command. It is stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.
  The wing has fought during the Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and NATO-led Operation Allied Force over Kosovo.
  The wing provides combat-ready Airmen training MQ-9 Reaper pilots and sensor operators.
  It deploys combat-ready and mission-support forces supporting Air Expeditionary Force operations, peacetime contingencies; provides host base support to over 4,600 personnel, including hosting the 54th Fighter Group's F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot training mission, the 96th Test Group's high-speed test track mission, and the German Air Force Flying Training Unit.
context_section_description: The next year brought major changes to the 49th Fighter Wing. On 2 June 2008, the first two F-22s were flown to Holloman, marking the day as an important date in the wing's history. The 5th generation fighter aircraft was officially welcomed during a Total Force Integration Announcement Ceremony, 6 June 2008, attended by then-Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. T. Michael Moseley.
  The ceremony served a dual purpose: to welcome the new airframe and to announce that the Air Force Reserve's 301st Fighter Squadron from Luke AFB, Ariz., would come to Holloman to form a classic association with the 7th and 8th Fighter Squadrons. The Total Force Integration between active-duty and reserve Airmen would later be official with the stand up of the 44th Fighter Group, 44th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 301st Fighter Squadron on 9 April 2010.
  An Air Force announcement in July 2009 brought another vital mission to the wing. Holloman was selected as a new location for an additional Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Formal Training Unit, allowing the base to once again move to the forefront of unmanned aerial vehicle technology as it had in the past. The 49th Fighter Wing FTU would become the Air Force's second MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper Formal Training Unit. On 26 Oct. 2009, three RPA squadrons officially stood up under the 49th Fighter Wing—the 29th Attack Squadron, 6th Reconnaissance Squadron and 16th Training Squadron—along with the 849th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, charged with maintaining Holloman's RPAs.
  In early 2010, the 49th Fighter Wing again exemplified its ability to respond in a moment's notice when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the country of Haiti, leaving thousands dead and many more homeless. Units from across the base were tasked to prepare personnel and assets to deploy in the relief effort, later known as Operation United Response. The 49th Materiel Maintenance Group, 49th Civil Engineer Squadron and 49th Logistics Readiness Squadron worked around-the-clock to prepare potable water and equipment to send to the country.
  Additionally, the 849th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron was asked to provide two RQ-1 aircraft and a team of crew chiefs and avionics personnel to support the ongoing relief effort. Because it was primarily an RPA training squadron, this was the first time the 849th was tasked with a real-world mission. The contingent from Holloman teamed up with members from the 432nd Maintenance Group at Creech AFB, Nev., to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to the troops on the ground assisting the Haitians.
  Even amongst ongoing Haiti relief operations, the 49th FW continued to support the war efforts down range. On 26 Feb. 2010, the 49th Materiel Maintenance Group began the movement of approximately 150 truckloads of assets, which were used to directly support joint and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Holloman's BEAR Base supplied 480,000 square feet of AM-2 matting that was used to expand the expeditionary aircraft operations throughout Afghanistan. The AM-2 matting provided was the equivalent of eight football fields and was valued at more than $15 million.
  Logisticians and engineers with the 49th also provided expeditionary base facilities and equipment to establish three 550-person encampments, valued at $10 million, for joint service forces in the area of responsibility.
  Also in February 2010, the 49th Fighter Wing was the host unit of Red Flag 10-3, an advanced aerial combat exercise where air crews from the U.S. and other allied nations trained in realistic aerial war scenarios at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
  With the 49th Fighter Wing now supporting multiple unique missions, it was announced in early 2010 that the wing's name would change to the 49th Wing to more accurately portray the diverse wing. The designation from a fighter wing to a wing became official 25 June 2010, during a change of command ceremony where Col. David "Kooler" Krumm became the first 49th Wing commander.
caption: Lockheed Martin F-22A Block 20 Raptor 04-4072 at Holloman AFB, 2013
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