F-22 in Libya?

It looks like the F-22 might finally fly its first combat mission, in support of the Libyan No Fly Zone.

The Raptor was declared operational in Dec 2005, but so far it hasn't flown any combat missions. There's talk now about possibly using it to take down radar sites in Libya... that is, if there are any radar sites left after the US Navy's bombardment with their Tomahawk missiles. Also, the French, British and Canadian Air Forces already have fighters in the air over Libya, so if the Raptor is going to see any action it's going to have to move quickly.

One might wonder whether the F-22 is really the best platform for doing this kind of work, or if perhaps Tomahawks and Rafales are sufficient.

On a completely unrelated note, check out Krog's New Weapon, a sci-fi story I published in Defense AT&L magazine in March, 2008. Why? Oh, no reason...