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The huge display of sortie generation capability comes as the base's F-35 force reaches full capacity after transitioning to the F-35 years ago. The 388th and 419th Fighter Wings that call Hill Air Force Base in Utah home have just executed a massive readiness drill that included an 'elephant walk' of a whopping 52 F-35As. The exercise coincides with the wings reaching full strength following the transition to the F-35A, a process that began years ago. The elephant walk and the massive number of flights that usually go along with it are all about sortie generation and displaying a level...

Full Title: U.S. Air Force warns Iran with huge show of strength as 52 fully-armed F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters worth $4.2 BILLION take off in a single wave after 'elephant walk' along Utah base runway The U.S. Air Force has performed a huge show of strength by launching more than 50 fully-armed Lightning II stealth fighters in a single wave following an elephant walk down the runway. The 52 F-35A aircrafts, which are worth a whopping $4.2 billion, took off in quick succession from the Hill Air Force Base in Utah on Monday. The exercise carried out by the...

TOKYO -- As Japan buys more U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighter aircraft, domestic jet engine builder IHI faces a risk to its most lucrative business. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has budgeted 701.3 billion yen ($6.41 billion) in fiscal 2019 for purchases through the U.S. foreign military sales program, up 70% from the previous year. Much of the outlay will go toward 105 Lockheed Martin F-35s, a transaction highlighted by President Donald Trump during his recent visit to Japan. "This purchase would give Japan the largest fleet of F-35s of any of our allies," Trump said Tuesday aboard the Kaga, a...

Poland plans to buy 32 Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters to replace Soviet-era jets, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Tuesday, amid the growing assertiveness of neighbour Russia. "Today we sent a request for quotation (LOR) to our American partners regarding the purchase of 32 F-35A aircraft along with a logistics and training package," Blaszczak tweeted. The US is expected to expand sales of F-35 fighters to five nations including Poland as European allies bulk up their defenses in the face of a strengthening Russia, the Pentagon said last month. Poland is among NATO member countries that spend at least...

According to U.S. Central Command, the target was an “entrenched tunnel network and a weapons cache” in Iraq’s Hamrin mountain range. Two F-35As dropped a Joint Directed Attack Munition on the target, described as a “location able to threaten friendly forces.” JDAMs are regular unguided “dumb” bombs fitted with a GPS-based guidance system and steerable tail fin kit. The pilot enters the GPS coordinates of the target into the JDAM and the guided munition will steer itself to the target. Military GPS is typically accurate to within 3 meters, making JDAMs extremely accurate. The Air Force is considering purchasing the...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Search and rescue teams found wreckage from a crashed Japanese F-35 stealth fighter in the Pacific Ocean close to northern Japan, and are scouring the waters for the missing pilot, authorities said on Wednesday. The aircraft, less than a year old, was the first F-35 assembled in Japan and was aloft for only 28 minutes on Tuesday before contact was lost, a defense official said. The plane had logged a total of 280 hours in the air, he added. It was only the second F-35 to crash since the aircraft’s first flight in 2006 and could reignite...

After years of cost overruns and criticism, the US military has started to deploy its stealth-enabled F-35 fighter jet. To communicate that message in no uncertain terms, the Air Force's 388th and 419th Fighter Wings carried out combat exercises meant to test the capabilities of their F-35As. The drill started off with an "Elephant Walk" that placed 36 of the jets (one is missing in this photo) on the runway all at once, worth $3 billion, at least at the current $90 million per airplane price. Apart from creating an intimidating photo, the Air Force wanted to confirm its ability...

The first fighter jet F-35A bought by the Turkish Armed Forces made its maiden flight in Fort Worth, Texas, the Dutch Aviation Society announced on Twitter. The jet produced by Lockheed Martin had tail number 18-0001 and was flown by Commander Wilson. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is expected take delivery of the first batch of 30 Lockheed Martin F-35 single-engine fighters at a ceremony in the United States on Jun. 21, in spite of a U.S. Congress bill calling for a halt in weapons sales due to faltering relations between the two countries. Lockheed Martin has not issued any...

One week after the U.S. Air Force declared the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter ready for combat, the Pentagon's top weapons tester warned that the aircraft is still fraught with problems and that fully-capable planes might not be available before the deadline that marks the end of development and the beginning of realistic combat testing. The Pentagon's director of operational testing, Michael Gilmore, stated in a memo obtained by Bloomberg that the F-35 is "actually not on a path toward success but instead on a path toward failing to deliver" the plane's full combat capabilities on time. Gilmore also said the...

“0 losses in 8 dogfights against F-15E Red Air” The U.S. Air Force F-35A fleet continues to work to declare the Lightning II IOC (initial operational capability) scheduled in the August – December timeframe. Among the activities carried out in the past weeks, a simulated deployment provided important feedbacks about the goal of demonstrating the F-35’s ability to “penetrate areas with developed air defenses, provide close air support to ground troops and be readily deployable to conflict theaters.” Seven F-35s deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, to carry out a series of operational tests...

Exclusive: U.S. Air Force to move forward target date for F-35 use WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force plans to start operational use of Lockheed Martin Corp.-built (LMT.N: Quote) F-35 fighter jets in mid-2016, a year earlier than planned, using a similar software package as the Marine Corps, two sources familiar with the plans said on Monday. The Air Force's decision to accelerate its introduction with a slightly less capable version of the F-35 software package means the planes will carry fewer weapons at first, although the software will later be upgraded to the final version, said the sources,...

The first night refueling in the history of the Lockheed Martin F-35 program was completed Thursday at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Piloted by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Vitt, AF-4, an F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant, rendezvoused with an Air Force KC-135 tanker and successfully received fuel through the F-35’s boom receptacle. Vitt’s sortie lasted more than three hours. In addition to qualifying with the KC-135, the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards AFB will also conduct night refueling tests with the KC-10.

Lockheed Martin has added all variants of the Boeing F-15 to an internal analysis of US Air Force platforms the company believes will be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II. Lockheed now predicts the F-35A will replace the F-15C/D air superiority fighter and the F-15E Strike Eagle. The USAF officially lists the F-35's conventional takeoff and landing variant as a ground-attack fighter complementing the air superiority mission, replacing only the Lockheed F-16 and the A-10. The speculative and unofficial addition of the F-15C/D and F-15E fleets allows Lockheed to claim the USAF's requirement to buy 1,763 F-35As over the next...