DefenceTalkAfter eight days “at war” the F-35A Lightning II is proving to be an invaluable asset during Red Flag 17-01, the Air Force’s premier air combat exercise held at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The F-35A is a fifth-generation, multi-role stealth fighter designed to gather, fuse, and distribute more information than any other fighter in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35a-proving-its-worth-at-red-flag-combat-exercise-68992/

DefenceTalkThe 33rd Fighter Wing loaded and released the Air Education and Training Command’s first live bombs from an F-35A here, January 17. In total, six aircraft were loaded with armed GBU-12s, and two bombs were released over the Eglin Air Force Base range. The GBU-12 is a 500-pound laser guided general-purpose bomb. The F-35 can […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35a-training-aircraft-drop-gbu-12-bombs-for-the-first-time-68869/

DefenceTalkSenior Japanese and U.S. government officials joined Lockheed Martin to celebrate the roll out of the first Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) F-35A Lightning II, marking a major milestone in Japan’s enhanced national defense and strengthening the future of the U.S-Japan security alliance. The ceremony was attended by more than 400 guests from both […]https://www.defencetalk.com/lockheed-rolls-out-first-f-35a-for-japan-air-self-defense-force-68232/

DefenceTalkThe US Air Force on Tuesday declared an initial squadron of F-35A stealth fighters as ready for combat, a major milestone for the futuristic aircraft dogged by delays and cost overruns. The squadron of about 12 planes is based at Hill Air Force Base in Utah and the planes’ combat rating — known as initial […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-air-force-declares-f-35a-fighter-jet-combat-ready-67946/

DefenceTalkThe first off-station deployment exercise for the F-35A Lightning II confirmed that the Air Force’s newest fighter jet is on track to reach initial operational capability later this year. A declaration of IOC means the F-35A will be combat ready. Seven F-35A aircraft and 181 personnel from Hill’s active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-air-force-says-f-35a-nearly-combat-ready-67741/

DefenceTalkThe F-35A Lightning II program took another step toward initial operational capability yesterday when two aircraft assigned to the 62nd Fighter Squadron successfully employed four laser-guided bombs on the Barry M. Goldwater Range. This marked the first weapons release by F-35s assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base. “Yesterday we were […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35as-drop-first-laser-guided-bombs-67091/

DefenceTalkAirmen from the 388th and 419th fighter wings dropped laser-guided bombs at the Utah Test and Training Range the week of Feb. 25, marking the first time an F-35 Lightning II combat unit has deployed weapons from the F-35A. Lt. Col. George Watkins, the 34th Fighter Squadron commander, said dropping weapons from the F-35 allows […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hill-afb-f-35s-drop-first-weapons-66892/

DefenceTalkThe F-35A Lightning II completed the first three airborne gunfire bursts from its internal Gun Airborne Unit (GAU)-22/A 25mm Gatling gun system during a California test flight, Oct. 30. This milestone was the first in a series of test flights to functionally evaluate the in-flight operation of the F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35a-lightning-ii-completes-first-successful-aerial-gun-test-65750/

DefenceTalkThe Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has completed the first fuel transfer with the air refuelling boom from a RAAF KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) to a US Air Force (USAF) F-35A Joint Strike Fighter at Edwards Air Force Base in California. A total of 59 contacts were conducted of which five contacts transferred 43,200 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/raaf-kc30a-tanker-refuels-f-35a-fighter-in-first-test-65511/

DefenceTalkCAMERI AIR BASE, Italy: Italy’s first F-35A Lightning II, known as AL-1 and assembled at the Cameri Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility, flew for the first time today marking the program’s first-ever F-35 flight outside the United States. Lockheed Martin F-35 test pilot Bill “Gigs” Gigliotti, lifted off the runway at 1:05 p.m. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/maiden-flight-for-the-first-f-35-made-in-italy-65292/