Luke AFB in Arizona is no stranger to new fighter technology. It was here that the USAF fielded the F-15 Eagle, it has been pivotal in F-16 training, and now it is the bedrock of the future for both domestic and international F-35 training.
BASE REPORT // LUKE AFB
AT ONE TIME, Luke AFB, in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, was home to more than 200 F-16 Fighting Falcons. It housed six USAF training squadrons, as well as one Air Force Reserve Command unit and a pair of foreign military sales units. The skies in and around the base constantly reverberated to the sound of F-16s.
But times change, and the type has been winding down in service since 2010. Replacing the ‘Viper’ is the USAF’s newest front-line fighter, the F-35 Lightning II, which has maintained a growing presence since it first arrived at Luke some four years ago.
As things stand, the F-35 has superseded the F-16 in three resident units: the 61st, 62nd and 63rd Fighter Squadrons. Around 60 F-35s are currently stationed here. In time, 144 will be permanently assigned to Luke. The first unit to receive the Lightning II was the 61st FS ‘Top Dogs’, which was reactivated in October 2013. Maj Luke ‘Cloc’ Outwater, an F-35 instructor pilot with the …
