AF-8 became the second Air Force F-35A strike fighter to arrive at Eglin AFB, Fla., to support the 33rd Fighter Wing’s F-35 training mission, announced prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The aircraft flew into Eglin from the company’s F-35 assembly facility in Fort Worth, Tex., on Wednesday. It joined AF-9, another F-35A production unit, that on July 14 became the first F-35 to touch down at Eglin for bed down and use at the schoolhouse to train F-35 pilots and maintainers. The 33rd FW is building a force of 59 F-35s, including F-35As, Marine Corps F-35Bs, and Navy F-35Cs, for training purposes.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
