F-35s Fly in Checkered Flag Exercise

12/18/2015
12/18/2015:  The F-35A Lightning II from the 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, at Tyndall Air Force Base is seen flying in support of Exercise Checkered Flag 16-01. Checkered Flag is a large-force exercise which simulates the employment of a large number of aircraft and is an opportunity to highlight…

First Australian F-35 Instructor Pilot Flight at Luke AFB

05/20/2015
05/20/2015: After completing his training at Eglin Air Force Base, Squadron Leader Andrew Jackson, of the Royal Australian Air Force, flew an Australian F-35 for the first time at Luke Air Force Base. Squadron Leader Jackson recently joined the team of instructor pilots training students on the fifth generation stealth…

First Female F-35 Pilot

05/15/2015
05/14/2015: Lt. Col. Christine Mau completed her first training flight in the F-35 Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base, making her the first female F-35 pilot. According to a story in the Daily News: The first female F-35 fighter jet pilot took to the skies Tuesday. Lt. Col. Christine…

Australian F-35 Pilot Completes Last Training Flight

04/26/2015
04/26/2015: The first-ever Australian F-35 pilot recently completed his last training flight, marking the end of his flight training at the Academic Training Center on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Royal Australian Air Force Squadron Leader Andrew Jackson, F-35 Lightning II student pilot, completes his final training mission after…

F-16 Pilots Train Alongside F-35 Pilots

04/25/2014
04/25/2014: F-16 pilots with the 419th and 388th Fighter Wings from Hill Air Force Base, Utah conducted air-to-air combat training alongside the F-35 Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. This is the first time Hill F-16 pilots have trained along side the fifth generation F-35.  Hill AFB was…

First F-35 British STOVL Vertical Landing

03/05/2014
03/05/2014: Footage of RAF pilot Squadron Leader Hugh Nichols performing the first uniformed British STOVL operation in the F-35 Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base.  Credit: Hurlburt Field : 2/27/14  And a piece by Lauren Sage Reinlie published 2/25/14 The jet shot through the sky, as jets tend to…

First UK Operational Flight of F-35

09/08/2013
09/08/2013: The first solo flight of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) by a UK operational pilot has taken place in the United States. [slidepress gallery='first-uk-operational-flight-of-f-35'] Credit Photos: 33rd Fighter Wing On 19 March at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, Squadron Leader Frankie Buchler piloted the fifth-generation multi-role stealth aircraft…

Combat Hammer: 2013

05/10/2013
05/10/2013: Combat Hammer is a week-long air-to-ground weapons system evaluation program known as Combat Hammer. The 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron at Eglin AFB hosts 20 to 25 evaluations at Hill and Eglin each year, assessing weapon system performance, reliability, capabilities, and limitations in realistic combat scenarios against representative real-world targets.…