Robbin Laird During a visit to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtown in March 2018, Murielle Delaporte and I had the chance to talk with the new commander of the Air Combat Group, Air Commodore Kitcher. RAAF Williamtown is undergoing significant infrastructure modernization as it prepares for the F-35A…
Recently, Australia more than doubled its F-35A fleet when Lockheed Martin delivered three F-35As (AU3, AU4 and AU5) to the Royal Australian Air Force team stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, USA. These are Australia’s first Block 3F Lightning II ‘Mission Ready’ jets which are being used to train…
F-35B Lighting IIs assigned to the “Avengers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 participate in a Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) exercise and Maj. Chris Brandt, F-35B pilot assigned to VMFA 211, conducts an interview on the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) in the Pacific…
Lance Cpl. Taryn Escott, Marine Corps Forces Central Command AFB MACDILL, Fla. — The F-35B Lightning II aircraft arrived at U.S. Central Command on MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., April 4, 2018. The purpose of the two-day visit was to inform CENTCOM senior leadership on the capabilities and limitations of…
South Korea is the ninth country to get the F-35. An article by Nick Zazulia published on March 28, 2018, underscored the South Korean perception of the importance of receiving the aircraft to their defense efforts. Korean ministers, generals and pilots and American legislators all (sang) the F-35’s praises and…
On Friday, December 15, 2017, Lockheed Martin delivered the 66th F-35 aircraft for the year, meeting the joint government and industry delivery target for 2017. According to a Lockheed Martin press release dated December 18, 2017, the importance of meeting the delivery number was highlighted. On Friday, December 15, Lockheed…
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jessica Paulauskas Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) completed fleet carrier qualifications (CQ) for the F-35C Lightning II program, marking another milestone for the new aircraft, while underway March 17-21. Pilots assigned to the “Rough Raiders” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125…
During a visit to Australia in March 2018, the Second Line of Defense team visited Williamtown Airbase and the Hunter Valley area. The Hunter valley area is well known as a significant wine growing area but it also has technology firms which among other things are supporting the standup of…
