Marine F-35B roll out

Marine Corp color guard members stand together after the USMC F-35B Lightning II roll out ceremony Feb. 24 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B roll out

Marine Corps color guard stand in front the F-35B Lightning II at its official roll out ceremony Feb. 24 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B roll out

U.S. Congressman Jeff Miller speaks at the Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II roll out ceremony Feb. 24 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B roll out

Marine Corp color guard member stands by during the USMC F-35B Lightning II roll out ceremony Feb. 24 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B roll out

A drummer with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing band performs at the Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II roll out ceremony Feb. 24 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Night Strike

The first night flight in the history of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Program was completed Jan. 18 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The mission consisted of a series of straight-in approaches in twilight and darkness. The pilot also performed an evaluation of the F-35's cockpit lighting which Ward called, "the best he's ever seen." The testing will clear the way for night refueling and formation testing later this year. (Lockheed Martin photo) (Lockheed Martin photos by Tom Reynolds and Darin Russell)

F-35B arrival

Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Smith, a maintainer with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501, marshals in the first Marine variant F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter to arrive at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Jan. 11. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Karen Roganov)

F-35B arrival

Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Smith, a maintainer with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501, marshals in the first Marine variant F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter to arrive at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Jan. 11. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Karen Roganov)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

Maintainers with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501 move in to secure the wheels of their new aircraft, the F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter variant at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Marines of VMFAT-501 received two F-35Bs Jan. 11. Both aircraft were escorted in by Marine F-18 Hornets. (U.S. Air Force photo/Chrissy Cuttita.)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Smith, a maintainer with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501, watches as the first Marine variant F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter roll toward him at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Jan. 11. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Smith, a maintainer with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501, recovered the first Marine variant F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter to arrive at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Jan. 11. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

The first of two Marine F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighters soars through the sky above Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., before landing at its new home. The newest aircraft in the Department of Defense inventory belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501. Both aircraft were escorted in by Marine F-18 Hornets. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

A Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501 maintainer stands by as the first Marine variant F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter is marshaled into place in front of the squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Marines of VMFAT-501 received two F-35Bs Jan. 11. Both aircraft were escorted in by Marine F-18 Hornets. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

Maj. Joseph Bachmann shakes hands with his plane captain Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Smith, of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501, after bringing the first Marine F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter to its new home at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Marines of VMFAT-501 received two F-35Bs Jan. 11. Both aircraft were escorted in by Marine F-18 Hornets. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

The Marine Corp’s newest aircraft, the F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter touches down at its new home at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The newest aircraft in the Department of Defense inventory belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501. The Marines of VMFAT-501 received two F-35Bs Jan. 11. Both aircraft were escorted in by Marine F-18 Hornets. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

Marine F-18 Hornets escorted the first and second Marine F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter variants to their home at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Jan. 11. The newest aircraft in the Department of Defense inventory belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

DoD’s first production F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter flies toward its new home at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., escorted by Marine Corps F-18 Hornets. The Marine variant of the JSF belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501. The Marines of VMFAT-501 received two F-35Bs Jan. 11. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)

Marine F-35B arrives at Eglin

DoD’s first production F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighter flies toward its new home at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., escorted by Marine Corps F-18 Hornets. The Marine variant of the JSF belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501. The Marines of VMFAT-501 received two F-35Bs Jan. 11. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)

Twin JSF arrival

Tech. Sgt. Matthew Burch and Staff Sgt. Jason Westberry, from the 58th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, review post operations tasks on their Portable Maintenance Aid after the fourth F-35 Lightning II taxied into its new home at Eglin. The Airmen are among the first Department of Defense maintainers trained by Lockheed Martin logistics support personnel in the joint strike fighter's recovery and inspection procedures. Both aircraft in the photo arrived here Aug. 31 in a four-ship formation with Lockheed Martin pilots flying the F-35As and F-16 escorts piloted by the wing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Karen Roganov)

Twin JSF arrival

Senior Airman Arthur Verchot prepares an F-35 Lightning II cockpit for tow operations, part of his duties as one of the few trained in recovering the Air Force's newest aircraft at the 33rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. The aircraft his team recovered was for the fourth delivery of the joint strike fighter to the 33rd Fighter Wing. With the assistance of Lockheed Martin logistics support, two Air Force three-man recovery teams are currently trained to support aircraft arrival with an additional fourteen Airmen trained in towing the jet. (U.S. Air Force photo/Chrissy Cuttita)

Twin JSF arrival

Another F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter arrived at Eglin with a 33rd Fighter Wing piloted F-16 escorting the jet to their new home Aug. 31. It was one of two aircraft delivered to Eglin that day by Lockheed Martin, bringing the total count of the fifth generation fighter aircraft here to four. The jets here are used for JSF maintenance training until all certifications are complete. More F-35s are scheduled to arrive at Eglin this year, including at least one short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant, BF-6. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)

Twin JSF arrival

Two more F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighters were delivered to Eglin with 33rd Fighter Wing piloted F-16s escorting the jets to their new home Aug. 31. Labeled as AF-10 and AF-11 by Lockheed Martin, the JSFs bring the total count of the fifth generation fighter aircraft here to four. The aircraft here are used for JSF maintenance training until all certifications are complete. More F-35s are scheduled to arrive at Eglin this year, including at least one short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant, BF-6. (U.S. Air Force photo/Chrissy Cuttita)

JSF rollout

An Airman snaps a picture with his phone of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter after its official rollout ceremony Aug. 26 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

JSF rollout

Eglin's honor guard brings in the colors during the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter's official rollout ceremony here Aug. 26. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)