F-35 Arrival Ceremony at Williamtown Air Base

12/21/2018
The first two RAAF Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters to be based in Australia have been formally welcomed to their home base of RAAF Williamtown December 10, 2018. [maxgallery id="122262"] The two jets, A35-009 and -010 arrived at Williamtown at 10:20am on December 10 from RAAF Amberley Williamtown.  The aircraft…

F-35 B Course Pilots Prepare for Combat

02/15/2017
02/17/2016: Luke's first B-course students conducted their first training sortie in the F-35 getting ready for their combat deployment assignment.. LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The Air Force’s first F-35 Lightning II basic flight course class took to the skies for the first time as they entered the live flying portion…

F-35s at Luke AFB: Dropping GBU 12s

05/03/2016
05/03/2016: An F-35 Lightning II from the 61st Fighter Squadron lines up into an attack route in preparation to drop a GBU-12 500-pound laser-guided bomb, April 25, 2016, at the Barry M. Goldwater Range in Gila Bend, Ariz. Three F-35s successfully delivered six inert GBU-12s during the practice bombing, making the 61st FS the…

ACC Heritage Flight Program: The F-35 Joins the Program

03/08/2016
03/08/2016: F-35 Heritage Flight Team qualified on March 6th 2016 during the Heritage Flight Conference to join the Air Combat Command Air Force Heritage Flight program. The program features modern USAF fighter aircraft flying alongside WW2, Korean War, and Vietnam-era aircraft in a display of airpower history. The F-35 Heritage team is from…

F-35 Participates in Weapons Load Competition

01/10/2016
01/10/2016: The first weapons load competition at Luke AFB to include an F-35.The F-35 crew-from the 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit-competed against three F-16 crews. Credit:56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs:12/18/15 LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Arizona -- A Luke Air Force Base F-35 Lightning II crew competed today for the first time in…

RAAF Pilot Completes His First F-35A Flight

03/25/2015
03/25/2015: In this video from the Australian Ministry of Defence, an Australian pilot describes his first flight of an Australian F-35 at Luke AFB. He described the plane as easy to fly and the experience very symmetrical with his training on the simulator. His main concern was not falling off…