LIGHTNING IITHE FIGHTER EVOLUTION - F-35

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F-35 LIGHTNING II F-35A into service

electronically scanned array (AESA) radar,

Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-40 Electro-

Optical Targeting System (EOTS), and the

Northrop Grumman AN/AAQ-37 electro-

optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS).

It is equipped with 11 weapons stations,

comprising three under each wing, two

in each of the two internal weapon bays

and one on the fuselage centreline.

Unlike the F-35B and F-35C, the

conventional take-off and landing (CTOL)

model is equipped with an internal four-

barrel 25mm GAU-22/A cannon.

However, this capability will

not be realised until the Block

3F software is released.

‘Gorillas’

The 33rd FW ‘Nomads’ became one of the

premier USAF F-15C Eagle units and during

Operation Desert Storm in 1991, its 58th TFS

‘Gorillas’ was responsible for downing the

majority of Iraqi fighters that helped the Eagle

forge its fearsome reputation. Following the

Eagles’ departure in 2009 a new command

structure was established – the 33rd FW

became a host unit to a shared F-35 operation

across the US Navy, US Marine Corps and

USAF with the first three US squadrons of

F-35s in three variants. Alongside the USAF,

the US Navy’s VFA-101 ‘Grim Reapers’

moved in with the first F-35Cs, as did the

Marine Corps’ VMFAT-501 ‘Warlords’ with

F-35Bs. While the Marines soon departed

Eglin for a more traditional home at MCAS

Beaufort, South Carolina, the ‘Grim Reapers’

are still resident, as is Air Education and

Training Command’s (AETC’s) 58th FS, which

became the pioneering unit in training the

first USAF F-35 instructors, maintainers and

associated intelligence personnel to seed

the rapidly expanding F-35 community.

The basic premise of standing up the initial

F-35 cadre involved experienced pilots being

drawn from other fighter aircraft types in the

USAF inventory. This was an unsurprising

approach given that the F-35 does a lot of

things differently – not least its reliance on

helmet-mounted display technology instead

of the traditional head-up display (HUD). It

An instructor at the 58th FS pre- ights

his jet for a local training mission.

Jamie Hunter