He called out to the rest of the fighter wing, who returned to formation and left the battlefield as one.

They would arrive in the vicinity of Eta Boötis IV ten hours after fighter wing Blue Alpha had engaged the enemy.

Zelliar's fighter wing stretched apart and spat blue flames at the sprawling wooden city, which lit up like kindling and choked the air with smoke.

The 142nd Fighter Wing did not respond.

The 48th Fighter Wing, based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, was leading Nato's Baltic Air Policing Mission in Lithuania.

A pilot from the Langley-based 1st Fighter Wing, America's most elite air-combat formation, reported oxygen loss during a flight last week.

A squadron of them could mop the deck with the fighter wings from two Fleet Carriers and maybe a third, easy.

Eglin's 33rd Fighter Wing has been borrowing old F-16s while awaiting clearance to fly its F-35s.

"The crew off-loaded something into one of the 499th Tactical Fighter wing's hangars," Otto said.

The 56th Fighter Wing of Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, is the site of an international pilot training program for the multi-role stealth fighter.