Following an independent evaluation of Eglin's capability to conduct F-35A Lightning II pilot training, Air Education and Training Command announced Dec. 17 that the 33rd Fighter Wing can do so starting January 2013.
When the Joint Strike Fighter Operational Test Team begins testing the F-35 this month, maintenance personnel will be fully self-sufficient and prepared to transition to flight operations.
Three Lockheed Martin F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft were officially delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps during ceremonies at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., on November 20, 2012.
The Joint Strike Fighter began the integration phase of weapons testing Oct. 26, when the F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing aircraft successfully completed the first in-flight test with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile.
In what was history in the making, the first F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, landed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma on Friday afternoon.
The Air Force's premier fighter, the F-35 Lightning II, surpassed its 500th sortie only 16 days after reaching the 400 mark and only 238 days from the beginning of the program.
Col. Arthur Tomassetti has been an integral part of the development of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and its prototype the X-35 since its inception.
A second British F-35B Lightning II arrived at Eglin AFB on October 19, joining the nine A variants of the joint strike fighter flown by the Air Force and the 13 B variants flown by the Marine Corps to become the largest fleet of F-35s in the world.
An F-35A test aircraft completed the first aerial weapons release of an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) on Oct. 19.
An F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft completed the first in-flight weapons release of a 2,000 pound GBU-31 BLU-109 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) from a 5th Generation fighter, October 16, 2012.
The engines roared overhead as an F-35A fell into formation. Although this is a basic maneuver for the test pilots, the possibilities for combat environments created by these elite aircraft working together are anything but mundane.
Five months of flying the Air Force's newest fighter jet has left one Airman convinced of the aircraft's substantial combat capability.
Air Force officials begin their F-35A Lightning II Operational Utility Evaluation on September 10, an instrumental step in beginning Joint Strike Fighter pilot and maintenance training for the service.
The F-35 Lightning II accomplished a significant test milestone August, 8 when the aircraft successfully released a weapon in flight.
It's official, the F-35 is going to Luke.
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