Raptors flying to Guam

Raptors flying to Guam.

That's F-22 Raptors, not potential predators of brown tree snake.

Six F-22A Raptors from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska will be heading to Guam this weekend to participate in the Jungle Shield exercise and Cope Thaw training. The Raptors from the 90th Fighter Squadron will spend two weeks on the island for the 13th Air Force's air defense mission and then participate in Cope Thaw, a series of training events that allow personnel to train in different environments away from their home station.

According to the Air Force, this is the first deployment of Pacific Air Forces-assigned F-22As. It also marks the second deployment of the F-22A to the Pacific theater. In February 2007, F-22As and personnel from the 27th FS at Langley AFB, Va., deployed to Kadena Air Base, Japan.