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  • First Dutch F-35 pilot takes to skies

    The first Netherlands pilot took to the skies here in the F-35A Lightning II, making the Netherlands the second partner country to operate the fifth-generation multirole fighter. Maj. Laurens J.W. Vijge, Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35 Integrated Training Center training lead, completed his first

  • Marines fly first F-35 STOVL mission at Eglin

    The 33rd Fighter Wing and the F-35 Lightning II program reached a new milestone when Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron-501 completed its first short take-off and vertical landing mission here Oct. 24. Maj. Brendan M. Walsh flew the hour-long mission in which the aircraft remained in the STOVL

  • Navy rolls out F-35C

    The Navy's first F-35C Lightning II carrier variant aircraft squadron, the "Grim Reapers" of Strike Fighter Squadron 101, hosted a rollout ceremony for their new aircraft at the squadron's home here Oct.1.The rollout ceremony commemorated the long, storied history of the "Grim Reapers" and the

  • F-35: New fighter creates new culture for 21st Century and beyond

    She didn't have a smudge on her. Not a leak found anywhere. She even had that "new jet smell." Skies were blue, everything was perfect. Those were the conditions on that July day in 2011 when Lt. Col. Eric Smith took off from the Lockheed facilities at Fort Worth, Texas, in the first operational

  • Tyndall unit provides battlefield awareness for Eglin F-35s

    Air battle managers from the 337th Air Control Squadron here recently became eyes in the skies for the Air Force's newest 5th generation fighter. The F-35 Lightning II, based at Eglin Air Force Base with the 33rd Fighter Wing, requires a different set of operating rules than other fighters, and this