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.
In the Space Force’s push to increase its consumption of commercial satellite capabilities, satellite communications stands out as the template. The question now is how broadly the Space Force will look to leverage additional SATCOM providers.