Last Sunday, on a sunny afternoon in Hawaii, three F-22 stealth fighter jets from the Pacific Air Forces took to the skies on an alert scramble, but d

Three stealth fighter jets just scrambled over Hawaii, and no one will say why

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2021-06-15 18:30:10

Last Sunday, on a sunny afternoon in Hawaii, three F-22 stealth fighter jets from the Pacific Air Forces took to the skies on an alert scramble, but details on why have been cryptic at best.

The military confirmed the incident was not a training exercise, but did not provide any details on why the fighter jets hit the skies on alert, though they did confirm that the "irregular air patrol" came in response to an FAA request, reports Hawaii News Now.

Two F-22 Raptors were reportedly the first to take off from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam at around 4 p.m., with a third joining them at around 5 p.m. A fourth plane, the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker military aerial refueling aircraft, also then joined the effort.

"The Hickam-based Air Force command added that the FAA requested that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command conduct an irregular air patrol and the situation resolved, prompting the fighters and a KC-135 Stratotanker (a refueling plane) to return to base. We cannot discuss further specifics of the situation.”

Automotive magazine The Drive reports that the messaging here is unusual, as even when Russian bombers approach U.S. shores, the U.S. military is largely open about the encounters. The magazine speculates that there may be national security issues involved that would make an immediate detailed response problematic.