• Final F-35A delivered to Eglin

    The 58th Fighter Squadron became the Air Force's first complete F-35A Lightning II squadron after they welcomed their 26th and final F-35A May 28 at the 33rd Fighter Wing, here.Maj. Scott Charlton, 58th FS pilot, ferried the aircraft, AF-45, from Lockheed Martin's F-35 production center in Fort

  • 33rd Fighter Wing surpasses 5,000 combined F-35 sorties

    The 33rd Fighter Wing etched another mark on the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program May 28 by logging its 5,000th combined sortie in the F-35. The F-35 Integrated Training Center at the wing flies a third of all F-35 sorties in the Department of Defense program. More than 15,000 sorties

  • Fuels flight key to mission success

    When the Base Realignment and Closure Committee designated Eglin as the home of the first F-35 Lightning II, it gave the base more than aircraft.Before the first plane arrived, millions of dollars went into upgrading an aging infrastructure on the 33rd Fighter Wing side of the base. From those

  • Eglin F-35s evacuate for hurricane exercise

    Hurricanes. It's no secret tropical storms can cause devastating damage across the landscape and lives of those it touches, which is why Sheppard and Eglin teamed up for a hurricane evacuation exercise March 11-12. The F-35 Lightning II, the military's newest fifth generation multi-role fighter jet

  • 1st Luke F-35 pilot training at Eglin

    Flying is a concept that captures the imagination of some people at a very young age; hence the success of characters like Peter Pan, Superman and even a flying house in the 2009 movie "Up."Few get to realize that dream, but Capt. Joshua Arki, a 61st Fighter Squadron instructor pilot and chief of