HAMPTON, Va. » Some of the nation’s 200 F-22 Raptor pilots want to be moved into other jobs because of oxygen-deficit problems with the stealth fighter, an Air Force leader said Monday.

Gen. Mike Hostage, commander of Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., told reporters that a "very small" number of pilots have asked not to fly the fifth-generation fighter jets or to be reassigned.

"Obviously, it’s a very sensitive thing because we are trying to ensure that the community fully understands all that we’re doing to try to get to a solution," Hostage said.

He did not provide exact figures on the number of pilots who have asked to not fly the jets, and said each pilot’s request would be handled individually.

The planes are stationed at five other bases besides Virginia: Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; and Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

Hawaii is home to at least 14 Raptors and is scheduled to eventually have 20. The Hawaii Air National Guard flies and maintains the stealth fighters with the active-duty Air Force.

The Air Force grounded its entire fleet of Raptors from May to September 2011 as a precaution related to the oxygen issue. The fleet was also grounded for several days in mid-October after an East Coast Raptor pilot had oxygen-related problems, officials said last year.

Air Force officials believe the plane is safe to fly. Hostage said he will fly soon because he won’t ask a pilot to do something that he will not.

"I’m going to check out and fly the airplane so I can understand exactly what it is they’re dealing with. The day we figure out what the problem is, I will stop flying (the plane) because we don’t have enough sorties for all of our combat aviators to get as much training as they need," he said.

The nation’s F-22 fighter jets were grounded last year after pilots complained of experiencing a lack of oxygen that can cause dizziness and blackouts. Air Force officials said they have taken steps against the problem but still haven’t pinpointed what’s causing the hypoxialike symptoms. Hypoxia is when the body doesn’t receive enough oxygen.

An Air Force panel is meeting weekly to investigate the problem and has enlisted the help of NASA and the Navy to learn more about what happens to the body under extreme conditions, among other things.

Hostage spoke during a media day event at the base, highlighting the nation’s most advanced fighter plane. The last of nearly 190 of the jets, first introduced in 2005, are scheduled to be delivered to the Air Force this week.

At a price tag of $143 million each, the Raptor has come under some criticism for not being used in place of older and less sophisticated jets in Iraq or Af­ghani­stan.

Hostage said the plane is critical to maintaining the nation’s air superiority in the future and that he wishes he had more of the jets. On Monday, Iran’s defense minister said that reports of the stealth fighter jet being deployed to the United Arab Emirates would damage regional security, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

Without saying which country in the region the F-22s were deployed to — or which base or bases they were deployed from — Hostage said there’s a reason other nations take note of the plane’s movements.

"People pay attention to where this airplane goes and what it does because, regardless of the furor in our press and public about the suitability or the safety of the airplane, they’re very worried about its capability. That, to me, means we’re on the right path with this capability," he said.