F-35 Aerial Refueling
06/19/2015
06/15/2015: An F-35 Lightning II gets refueled on June 10, 2015 Credit:99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs:6/10/15
56th Fighter Wing F-35 Refueling Mission
06/15/2015
06/15/2015: F-35's from the 56th Fighter Wing took flight with two KC-135's for an aerial refueling mission over Arizona. Credit:56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs:6/5/15 And the perspective from MCAS Beaufort: Fueling a fighter jet mid-mission isn’t as easy as exiting a highway to top off your tank. It’s really…
Visiting MAG-31: An Update on the Warlords
06/07/2015
06/07/2015: On May 19, 2015, a week before visiting the USS WASP and meeting with the crew and pilots doing the operational trials aboard the ship, the Second Line of Defense team went to MCAS Beaufort to discuss the progress made with the Warlords after moving from Eglin. We had…
Brigadier General Scott Pleus, 56th Fighter Wing commander, Flies first Wing’s Training Sortie
05/04/2015
05/04/2015: Brigadier General Scott Pleus, 56th Fighter Wing commander, Flies first Wing’s Training Sortie According to a story published on 3/19/15 by the 56th Fighter Wing: The 56th Fighter Wing officially began training new F-35 pilots today when the first student, Brigadier General Scott Pleus, 56th Fighter Wing commander, flew…
Visiting the F-35 Final Assembly Line, Fort Worth
03/01/2015
02/26/2015: By Robbin Laird I had not visited the Final Assembly Line or FAL in Fort Worth since late 2012. Much has changed as the line has matured, and a line stood up in Cameri, Italy and one being built in Japan. The first Italian FACO F-35 rollout will happen…
F-35C Carrier Tests: A Photo and Video Album
11/11/2014
11/08/2014: The initial carrier tests of the F-35 have begun aboard the USS Nimitz. It is clear from our visit to Fallon and our discussion with the head of Naval Warfare that the Navy leadership is getting ready to welcome the F-35 and to leverage the asset to work more…
Global Hawk Comes to Japan for Operations
05/24/2014
05/24/2014: Japan is a key ally for the U.S. in dealing with Pacific defense. In the meetings with Secretary of Defense Hagel in the Fall of 2013, the Japanese highlighted that new F-35s, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and Global Hawk long-range reconnaissance UAVs were to be deployed to Japan. Indeed,…
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…