Wg Cdr Butcher relished his maiden ight
on the F-35 on December 1 at Beaufort and
exclaimed afterwards: “This was a memorable
day and climbing into the cockpit for the rst
time felt really familiar as the simulator I have
been training in is so realistic. It was a real
thrill to nally y this aircraft and it certainly
exceeded my expectations. The capabilities
and potential of this aircraft are immense,
and this is a very exciting time to be a fast
jet pilot.” By the end of the year the OC
will be one of 13 pilots in the squadron, but
he declined to disclose how many will be
assigned when the unit is fully operational.
Four of the 13 are ab initio pilots – fresh from ying the Hawk T2 with IV(R) Sqn at RAF
Valley on Anglesey – also ew the F-35 for
the rst time in December.
Composition of the squadron will mirror
the rest of the Lightning Force with a 60%
RAF and 40% Royal Navy division of
personnel. Wg Cdr Butcher will command
617 Sqn initially with Lt Cdr Adam Hogg as
his executive officer from the Royal Navy.
Those two roles will alternate between the
services.MOVING TO MARHAM
An RAF Atlas C1 loaded with equipment left
Beaufort on January 25 to begin the moveto the Norfolk air base. The unit is due to
re-form on April 17 and will y into Marham
with nine aircraft this summer. Project Anvil,
a £550m revamp of the base, will prepare it
for the arrival of the F-35s. Two of the four
hangars are being demolished to make way
for maintenance and logistics infrastructure,
and a Lightning Force headquarters. More
than 90% of both runways at the base are
to be resurfaced or replaced. The 6,000ft
(1,829m) cross runway is scheduled to
reopen towards the end of April and then
attention will switch to the main runway
which will be shut during the work. Three
concrete landing pads will be ready byThe UK has bought the
F-35B short take-off
and vertical landing
variant of the Lightning
II. Michael D Jackson/©
Lockheed Martin, 201650 Aviation News incorporating Jets May 2018HMS Queen Elizabeth
is the rst of the UK’s
two new aircraft carriers.
No.617 Sqn is due to
achieve IOC Maritime
in 2020. MoD/Crown
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