Despite the Raptor fleet's readiness woes and ongoing relocation, the Alaska wing is ready to fight. Here's What You Need To Remember: The F-22 Raptor is notorious for being plagued by maintenance issues - so the wing's ability to launch all its planes at once signals a major achievement. A U.S. Air Force wing in Alaska managed to launch 24 F-22 Raptor stealth fighters plus an E-3 radar plane and a C-17 transport, all in quick succession. The dramatic "elephant walk" at Elmendorf Air Force Base was more than an impressive photo-op. It showed off much of the new, bigger F-22 force at the base, underscored the resident 3rd Wing's apparently improving maintenance capabilities and underscored the Air Force's evolving strategy for deploying F-22s and other planes in self-sustaining small groups.