Aug. 2, 2016 Air Force declares F-35A ‘combat ready’ JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – The F-35A Lightning II fifth generation fighter aircraft was declared ‘combat ready’ today by Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the commander of Air Combat Command. Carlisle lauded the aircraft’s performance, noting that the aircraft had met all key criteria for reaching initial
July 13, 2016 Reservists lead F-35 ops on drill weekend This weekend marks the first time reservists in the 419th Fighter Wing conducted F-35 operations independent of their active duty counterparts. Reserve Airmen have been integral to the F-35 mission at Hill AFB, working side by side with the active duty 388th Fighter Wing since the first aircraft
June 27, 2016 F-35A nearly combat ready The 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.
May 5, 2016 Hill F-35s form up for combat training F-35 pilots here began flying routine four-ship combat training missions at the Utah Test and Training range in the west desert this week.Active duty and Reserve pilots from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings will use the jet’s intricate computer network to evade a series of simulated threats.
Feb. 26, 2016 Reserve, active duty team up at Bagram From the flightline to the hangars, Air Force reservists in the 419th Fighter Wing’s operations and maintenance groups work side by side with active-duty Airmen in the 388th Fighter Wing on a daily basis. About 50 Airmen from the 419th FW have taken that teamwork to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan,
Dec. 11, 2015 419th pilot flies Hill’s hundredth F-35 sortie Maj. Jayson Rickard, a reservist in the 466th Fighter Squadron, flew his first local sortie in the F-35 Lightning II here today. Rickard's flight marks the 100th sortie in the F-35 at Hill AFB since the first combat-coded aircraft arrived in September. Rickard is also the first Reserve pilot in
Oct. 15, 2015 Hill total force team welcomes F-35 The 388th Fighter Wing and 419th Fighter Wing formally welcomed the arrival ofthe F-35 Lightning II during a ceremony here today.The event was hostedby Lockheed Martin, the aerospace company that designed and produced theaircraft, to mark the beginning of F-35 operations at the active duty 388th