General briefs committee on F-22 safety fixes

A top Air Force General outlined steps taken to make sure jet pilots don’t black out. Two whistleblower pilots recently said the F-22 oxygen delivery system was faulty, causing a condition known as hypoxia.

The Senate Armed Services Committee wanted to know more. Lt. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger told the committee the Air Force made 17 life-support enhancements to the F-22. One is a fingertip sensor to tell when pilots are starved for oxygen. Wolfenbarger said pilot blackouts occurred in less than one-tenth of 1 percent of F-22 sorties.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily DoD Report brought to you by United Health Military and Veterans Services. For more defense news,

        Join us May 2 at 2 p.m. ET for a discussion with agency and industry leaders on network modernization strategy, 5G, AI and plans for the future at the Naval Network Warfare Command and NASA, sponsored by T-Mobile. | Register now!