EGLIN AFB — After years of delays and controversy, a large crowd finally got an up-close look at the newly arrived F-35 Lightning II fighter jet Friday.
With one of the two F-35s at Eglin Air Force Base in the background, more than 600 people attended the rollout ceremony in one of the new hangars for the 33rd Fighter Wing.
“Eventually, 2,200 maintainers and 100 pilots per year will pass through these doors,” said Col. Andrew Toth, commander of the 33rd. “For the immediate future, starting in 2012 we anticipate a couple hundred pilots and maintainers going through the training center. In 2014, the program should be mature enough to have the Air Force send students fresh from basic training.
“What this aircraft behind me stands for is a visual representation of our exciting future,” Toth added. “The 33rd Pursuit Group of the past is nothing like the 33rd Fighter Wing of today, except in the long-standing spirit of air power. With the F-35 program, we foresee air dominance for our services and partner nations for the next 30 to 50 years. The Nomads stand ready to provide fire from the clouds anytime, anywhere.”
It could be awhile before local residents see the F-35s in the sky.
“We’re following an event-driven timeline, so it’s still probably going to be a few months before we actually start flying them,” Gen. Edward Rice, commander of the Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas, said later. “We’re using the aircraft now for maintenance tech training and pilots are going through the checklists and testing. I can’t give you an exact date, but we are all anxious for that as well.”
Eglin is scheduled to receive 59 F-35s. Larry Lawson, executive vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program, said Eglin’s next four Joint Strike Fighters should be delivered within the next month.
Lockheed Martin has 54 other F-35s in various stages of production at its plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
Lawson said Lockheed Martin now is finishing about two F-35s a month. That output is expected to increase to about three a month for the next couple of years before production ramps up even more
“I think this is an important milestone for the F-35 program, and more importantly it’s the beginning of a new era in training for the U.S. Air Force, Army and Marine forces,” Lawson said. “Never in our nation’s history have we had the opportunity to recapitalize all of our air forces and work at this level of cooperation to not only provide an incredible capability, but to figure out how to do it in the most cooperative way.”
Following the ceremony, Medal of Honor recipient and retired Air Force Col. Bud Day and his wife Doris were given an up-close look at the jet. Bud Day said the F-35 was much more complex than the ones he flew in Vietnam, but added that it is very functional.
“This is going to be a real efficient airplane when you get it out and get it on the line,” Day said. “There’s a ton of work you can do out in the combat theater with this airplane quick. It’s got a lot of internal defense built into it because of its great offensive capability.”
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