Translations - Abu Dhabi
The US Air Force boasts the most advanced F-22 Raptor fighter in the world to date, and some compare its destructive power to hurricane strength, with a top speed of about 2,500 kilometers per hour.
But the F-22 Raptor, dubbed the "ghost", suffered a setback last year after a hurricane destroyed several of the planes, outperforming the aircraft that is usually likened to it.
The F-22 Raptor is the first fifth-generation fighter, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, a twin-engine single-seat aircraft that has expanded its role to include multi-tasking capabilities such as precision strike targets for ground targets.
On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael destroyed 17 US Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jets at Tyndale Air Force Base in Florida.
The site noted that the repair of the air base from the damage caused by the hurricane, may take several years and cost the state budget billions of dollars.
Other military facilities, including a US Navy submarine facility and a US Coast Guard shipyard, were badly damaged by Hurricane Michael.
But Hurricane Michael was not the first storm to deal a painful blow to the US Air Force. In 1992 and 1933, storms destroyed air bases on the east coast, underlining the constant threat posed by large storms and floods to air bases and aircraft.
On August 23, 1933, Virginia's "Great Hurricane" hit Langley Airport, which houses a corps of the US Army Air Force, and flooded aircraft pavements several meters deep.
A Category 5 hurricane crushed a US Air Force base near Miami on August 24, 1992, destroying F-16s and C-130 C-130s, while other powerful planes failed to escape the storm.