The F-35 is destined to follow in the footsteps of the F-16 and become ubiquitous worldwide. Ted Carlson visited Luke Air Force Base to discover more about the expansion of the international training effort.
International F-35
“We consider ourselves the best in the business at the fighter training mission and have been doing this for decades with the F-16. Much of our F-35 training has been modelled off of what we have learned from the F-16.” Lt Col Eric ‘Bodhi’ Puels
Luke Air Force Base has been the F-16 fighter training ‘mecca’ for decades and previously hosted F-15 training. Today, frontline F-35A units are being established around the globe, and Luke AFB tenants include a trio of US Air Force training squadrons flying the jet that airmen have begun to nickname ‘Panther’.
Embedded within these squadrons are some of the original Lightning II partner nations, coupled with the 944th Operations Group (OG) Det 2 ‘Ninjas’, which trains F-35 pilots from countries that procured the F-35 via Foreign Military Sales (FMS). Currently Luke, which sits in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, is home to an approximate 50:50 mix of ‘Vipers’ and Lightning IIs, but as time marches on, the Lightning II inventory will dominate.
Luke’s lair
