The U.S. Air Force has awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) to seven F-22 Raptor pilots for combat actions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, including support for Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025. Six of the pilots received the award during a ceremony Aug. 31, 2026, at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, from Gen. Adrian Spain, commander of Air Combat Command. A seventh F-22 pilot received the DFC at a separate event in Essen, Germany, announced Sept. 30, 2026.
The DFC is the military’s highest award for valor in flight and the fourth-highest military award overall, above the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. The Air Force has not released the pilots’ names or detailed citations, citing operational security.
“In the interest of operational security, the 1st Fighter Wing will not release pilot or any further mission details,” an Air Force official said in an email. The official photos from the Langley ceremony show Spain beside an empty stage, with no pilots present.
Spain described the pilots’ role in the operation: “Their job was to provide air superiority. The bombers and the rest of the support package relied on these Raptor pilots to clear the skies, shield them from surface threats, and ensure a safe route through heavily contested airspace.”
Since Air Force pilots began flying active combat missions against Iranian missile and drone attacks in April 2024, the service has announced the awards of 76 DFCs to 75 pilots and aircrew for combat flights. One airman received two DFCs for separate flights. The awards have come at 15 bases, given out to groups ranging from a single fighter pilot in Alaska to 12 tanker pilots and boom operators at a single ceremony at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.
Of those, the Air Force has released virtually no information for 11 of those awards. Along with the seven anonymous F-22 pilots, the Air Force released no information on two DFCs awarded to F-16 pilots with the 510th Fighter Squadron at Aviano Air Base, Italy, in June 2025. The same is true for two pilots who appear to have received DFCs this month from Air Force Chief of Staff Kenneth Wilsbach at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
Spain said the rarity of the award reflects its significance: “We haven’t awarded many of these in the last few decades, as it’s intended to recognize true heroism and highly exceptional accomplishment in flight, which means that it should be rare, and it is.”
The Air Force has not indicated when the awarded flights took place, beyond the Midnight Hammer reference, or what specific actions the pilots took. No further details have been announced.
Sources: Task & Purpose · The Aviationist