Within 24 hours of the announcement, six F-35As from the U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command touched down at Royal Air Force Lakenheath for the type’s first overseas training deployment to Europe.
F-35A Lightning II’s from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, land at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, April 15, 2017. The aircraft arrival marks the first F-35A fighter training deployment to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility or any overseas location as a flying training deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Matthew Plew)
An F-35 Lightning II from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, taxis in at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, April 15, 2017. The aircraft arrival marks the first F-35A fighter training deployment to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility or any overseas location as a flying training deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Emerson Nuñez)An F-35 Lightning II from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, taxis in at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, April 15, 2017. The U.S. Air Force deployed the aircraft, approximately 250 Airmen, and associated equipment to Lakenheath on a long-planned training deployment to conduct air training with other Europe-based aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/Rank Name)F-35 Lightning II from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, taxis in at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, April 15, 2017. The F-35A is a fifth generation fighter that provides the joint warfighter unprecedented global precision attack capability against current and emerging threats, while complementing the Air Force’s air superiority fleet. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Emerson Nuñez)An F-35A Lightning II from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, lands at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, April 15, 2017. The aircraft arrival marks the first F-35A fighter training deployment to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility or any overseas location as a flying training deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Eric Burks)
