F-22 Raptors pulled for operational assignments before scheduled Super Bowl LX flyover

The F-22 Raptors scheduled for a Super Bowl LX flyover will pulled for an operational assignment. The Military Times reported the news Saturday.

“Katie Spencer, the Sports Outreach Program manager for the Department of the Air Force, said the initial flyover plan included a pair of F-22s, to showcase the most advanced jets from both services,” the report read. “‘We wanted 5th-generation aircraft from the Air Force and 5th-generation aircraft from the Navy,’ Spencer told Military Times in a Friday interview. ‘But as things happen in our military, you know, operational tempo has increased, and so the F-22s got pulled for some operational assignments.'”

Spencer also mentioned that the flyover represented training time for aircrews. It did not require additional taxpayer funding, even for Super Bowl LX.

“These flyovers serve as time-over-target training for our crews,” she said. “They serve as recovery efforts with our maintainers. And so the reason that we are so proficient at operations like Midnight Hammer and other things that you’ll see is because we can replicate those real world scenarios with this type of flying.”

Spencer revealed F-15s from Fresno Air National Guard Base were tapped in late to join the flyover. Super Bowl LX is set for 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday in Santa Clara, California. “Our Guard members have stepped in to fill that role, and we’re super grateful for that,” Spencer added.

Super Bowl LX prediction from Kirk Herbstreit

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit made his official Super Bowl LX prediction between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. If you are expecting a close game, Herbstreit is right with you!

“I think Seattle is going to win a three-point game,” Herbstreit said on The Dan Patrick Show. “It’s going to be a back and forth game, like, typical NFL game, goes into the fourth quarter. One possession is going to be critical late. I think Seattle wins a 24-21 kind of game.”

The last time the Seahawks and Patriots squared off in the Super Bowl, it was a different era. In Super Bowl XLIX, New England edged Seattle 28-24 on a famous interception from Malcolm Butler at the goal line. At the time, the Seahawks were going for back to back championships.

But, it spurred a new Patriots dynasty instead, as they won Super Bowl XLIX, Super Bowl LI, lost Super Bowl LII and won Super Bowl LIII in the coming years.