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U.S. Air Force News

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Red Flag 23-3: Uniting US armed forces

    Red Flag 23-3 has come to a close for more than 2,000 U.S. Air Force, Space Force, Marine Corps, Navy and Air National Guard that ran from July 17 to August 4.

  • AF Year in Photos

    This year's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This annual feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AFCEC continues infrastructure construction to support F-35

    From flight lines and hangars to maintenance and training facilities, Air Force Civil Engineer Center is charged with delivering the infrastructure needed to accommodate the Air Force’s latest fighter aircraft, designed for new warfighting capabilities.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Fourth Fighter Squadron wraps up training in Alaska

    Red Flag is a large force combat exercise that takes place several times each year at both Eielson AFB and Nellis AFB, Nevada, where a friendly “Blue Force” takes on an enemy “Red Force” over several days in a variety of taxing, combat-realistic scenarios.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Kessel Run brings new software to Vermont ANG aircraft maintainers

    In the course of two weeks, Kessel Run personnel started with zero Mad Hatter users from the Vermont ANG and grew to 78 user accounts at the 158th Maintenance Group. Airmen were able to recover, service and launch aircraft entirely using Mad Hatter applications, resulting in 10 successful sorties

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Newest F-35A squadron brings fifth-generation capabilities to Red Flag

    The exercise, which takes place from Jan. 27-Feb. 15, is meant to give at least 10 combat-representative sorties to younger pilots to better prepare them for real combat against very capable adversaries. The 421st Fighter Squadron is the most recent squadron to transition to the F-35A in the 388th

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Hill AFB fighter wings receive final F-35A Lightning II

    The first operational F-35As arrived at Hill Air Force Base in September 2015, and since then, the active duty 388th and Air Force Reserve 419th Fighter Wings have flown more than 17,500 sorties and more than 33,000 flying hours.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Record-setting first sortie for wing's newest F-35A

    Aircraft tail number 5261 left Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, production facility a little after 8 a.m. Aug. 1, landed at Hill Air Force Base at 10 a.m., and by 3 p.m. had taken off on its first combat training mission.

  • RAF Lakenheath breaks ground on future F-35 infrastructure

    Through the partnership with the DIO, as well as Kier and VolkerFitzpatrick construction groups, the installation will be ready to welcome the first F-35A Lightning II aircraft in late 2021. The infrastructure projects will include a flight simulator facility, a maintenance unit, new hangars and

  • Mountain Home AFB hosts largest off-station F-35A operation to date

    The squadron, normally stationed at Hill AFB, Utah, is functioning as a detachment with about 300 Airmen in operations, support and maintenance. They arrived at Mountain Home AFB with 17 jets and will build up to 24 as they continue to receive and process new aircraft being delivered from the

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Hill AFB F-35As arrive at Spangdahlem AB

    Funded through the European Deterrence Initiative, the TSP provides a more robust U.S. military rotational presence in the European theater capable of deterring adversaries and assuring partners and allies of the U.S. commitment to regional security.

  • US, UAE fly to build interoperability

    The U.S Air Force and the United Arab Emirates Air Force join together for a partnering flight in the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility. This flight was conducted to build military-to-military relationships and interoperability with the UAE.

  • Hill AFB F-35A units assist in F-16 fighter training

    For the last two weeks, F-16 basic course students and instructor pilots from the 311th Fighter Squadron at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, have been flying with and against the Air Force’s first operational F-35A units.

  • Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II arrives for first Middle East deployment

    As the first deployment to the U.S. Air Forces Central Command area of responsibility, crews are prepared and trained for the AFCENT mission. The F-35A, the conventional takeoff and landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, provides greater operational capability by combining advanced stealth

  • F-35A maintainers, special ops team up for forward refueling

    For the first time, Airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah and Airmen from the 26th Special Tactics Squadron and the 27th Special Operation Logistics Readiness Squadron at Cannon AFB, trained and carried out a Forward Air Refueling Point operation from the MC-130J Commando

  • Red Flag strengthens F-35A maintainers

    After more than two weeks launching F-35A Lightning II sorties at Red Flag 19-1, maintainers with the 388th Fighter Wing are impressed with the jet and the young airmen who help maintain it.

  • 'Trial by Flag' for new F-35A pilots

    F-35A pilots who recently graduated their initial training and are currently deployed to Nellis Air Force Base as part of exercise Red-Flag 19-1. Now they are being battle-tested.

  • Innovation in tight spaces

    As Hurricane Michael churned toward the Emerald Coast of Florida, F-35A Lightning IIs from the 33rd Fighter Wing evacuated to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, to avoid the storm’s path and potential catastrophic damage. As Michael passed, narrowly missing Eglin AFB, a different type of storm

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • 421st Fighter Squadron and AMU receive first F-35A

    The 421st Fighter Squadron here received its first F-35A Lightning II Dec. 12. The squadron is the last of three squadrons in Hill Air Force Base’s 388th Fighter Wing to take possession of combat-ready aircraft, bringing the 388th Fighter Wing closer to full strength.

  • Luke AFB stands up new F-35A lightning II fighter squadron

    The 308th Fighter Squadron was reactivated in a ceremony at Luke Air Force Base, Nov. 30. The squadron will house the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s and the Royal Danish Air Force’s F-35A Lightning IIs, in a training partnership.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • 388th FW drops GBU-49 in combat training

    The 388th Fighter Wing’s 34th Fighter Squadron recently returned from a weapons evaluation exercise at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where they employed the GBU-49 for the first time in F-35A Lightning II combat training.

  • US, Aussie partnership thriving at Luke AFB

    Since the arrival of Australia’s first F-35A at Luke Air Force Base in December 2014, Australian pilots and maintainers have trained side by side with members from the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin in preparation for the day when Australian F-35s would travel home to Australia.

  • President Trump visits Luke AFB

    President Donald J. Trump visited Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, Oct. 19, to discuss military weapons and technology capabilities and learn about the 56th Fighter Wing’s pilot training mission.

  • New tech to ease F-35A flight line maintenance

    Maintainers on Hill Air Force Base’s flight line are beginning to utilize new high-tech, hand-held tablets to work on the F-35A Lightning II, the United States’ most advanced multi-role fighter aircraft.

  • Hill AFB Airmen, aircraft progress together as F-35A program matures

    Two years after the Air Force declared initial operational capability for the F-35A Lightning II, pilots and maintainers at Hill Air Force Base’s active duty 388th and reserve 419th Fighter Wings are steadily erasing the word “initial” from in front of “operational capability.”

  • Edwards AFB squadron completes Joint Strike Missile test program

    A team of U.S. Air Force engineers, test pilots, and Norwegian government and industry personnel recently completed a large phase of testing for the Joint Strike Missile.The JSM is Norway’s advanced anti-surface warfare missile designed for the new F-35A Lighting II’s internal weapons bay. The

  • Hill AFB F-35A maintainers passing the Pacific TSP test

    Five weeks into the first F-35A Pacific Theater Security Package deployment the 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit team is at full stride.Maintainers in the Pacific location and in Utah, home of the 34th AMU under the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings are coming together to make the first TSP a success and

  • Hill AFB’s F-35A, Airmen mastering first Pacific deployment

    More than 300 men and women of the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings out of Hill Air Force Base, Utah and 12 F-35A Lightning IIs are conducting business for the next six months on the subtropical Japanese island of Okinawa during a deployment known as a Theater Security Package.

  • Around the Air Force: Nov. 24

    FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS) – On this look around the Air Force, Chief Master Sgt. Amy Giaquinto becomes the first woman to serve as the top enlisted advisor to the adjutant general of New York, Air Force F-35As are in Japan for the first time and the Air Force’s Personnel Center is accepting

  • F-35A scheduled for first operational deployment to Indo-Asia-Pacific

    Approximately 300 Airmen and 12 F-35A Lightning IIs from Hill Air Force Base, Utah’s 34th Fighter Squadron are set to deploy to Kadena Air Base, Japan for a six month rotation. The aircraft and supporting personnel are scheduled to arrive at Kadena AB in early November 2017.

  • US forces to participate in Seoul ADEX 2017

    The U.S. military will be represented at the 2017 Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, or Seoul ADEX 17, at Seoul Airport, South Korea, Oct. 17-22, 2017.

  • Around the Air Force: Aug. 18

    On this look Around the Air Force Airmen at Hill Air Force Base , Utah, fly F-35A Lightning IIs in support of exercise Combat Hammer, Airmen at Misawa Air Base, Japan, train with Japanese Pararescuemen for exercise Cope Angel, and the promotion results for staff sergeant are in. Hosted by Staff.

  • Around the Air Force: July 19

    On this look around the Air Force a Wounded Warrior receives the Pat Tillman award at the ESPYs, a medical exercise in Minnesota provides free healthcare for local residents, and Red Flag 17-3 features F-35s from both the Air Force and the Marine Corps. Hosted by Tech. Sgt. Robbie Arp.

  • Fighter wings successfully field test F-35A ammunition loader

    The 388th Fighter Wing, the Air Force’s first F-35 Lightning II operational wing, recently received five F-35A bulk ammunition loaders for field use.Airmen extensively tested one of the loaders June 6-9, 2017, during an engineering validation and verification evaluation here.

  • Air Force to Release F-35 Weight Restrictions

    Air Force leaders recently removed the restriction that kept pilots weighing less than 136 pounds from flying the F-35A. The restriction was imposed in 2015 due to concerns about the risk during ejections in a portion of the flight envelope.

  • F-35 complete first European training deployment

    Eight F-35A Lightning IIs from the 34th Fighter Squadron, along with supporting units and equipment from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, completed the first F-35A training deployment to Europe, May 7, 2017.

  • F-35A deployment brings advanced airpower capability to Europe

    This weekend’s deployment of an initial six F-35A Lightning II fighters and several hundred Airmen to Europe demonstrates the aircraft’s readiness to conduct operations with America’s European partners, according to Air Force leaders.

  • Hill AFB fighter wings bring first F-35A to Red Flag

    Pilots and maintainers from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings deployed the F-35A Lightning II to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Jan. 20, 2017 for exercise Red Flag.This is the first deployment to Red Flag for the F-35A and the first large movement since the Air Force declared the jet combat ready in

  • AETC loads, releases first live bombs from F-35A

    The 33rd Fighter Wing loaded and released the Air Education and Training Command’s first live bombs from an F-35A here, Jan. 17, 2017.In total, six aircraft were loaded with armed GBU-12s, and two bombs were released over the Eglin Air Force Base range.

  • Around the Air Force: Aug. 2

    On this look around the Air Force, the F-35A Lightning II becomes combat ready; Airmen at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, revamp a C-130H Hercules for fighting wildfires; and the Air Force selects the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year. Hosted by SSgt Traci Keller.

  • First pipeline F-35 crew chiefs graduate

    Nine Airmen became the first Air Force recruits to graduate initial skills technical training as F-35 Lightning II crew chiefs after completing Mission-Ready Airmen training here Aug. 7."The opportunity to be the first of something so important means a lot. I know many people are looking at us to be

  • Eglin welcomes final F-35A

    The 58th Fighter Squadron became the Air Force's first complete F-35A Lightning II squadron after they welcomed their 26th and final F-35A May 28 at the 33rd Fighter Wing, here.