The Royal Australian Air Force has already taken delivery of 44 of the 72 F-35A Lightning II fighters. The mark of 44 aircraft in the fleet was reached on 18/11 after the arrival of three more aircraft from the United States.
The three newest planes will make up the No. 77 Squadron, unit at Williamtown Air Force Base. The aircraft took off from Eglin Air Force Base, in the US state of Florida, made a stopover at Hickam Air Force Base, in Hawaii, to finally arrive in Australia.
The operation was called Exercise Lightning Ferry 21-4, which also marks the last Australian F-35 transfer flight of 2021. “Our focus in 2021 was to build a combat-ready F-35A team”, said Wing Commander Tim Ireland, commander of 77 Sqdn.
According to him, the new F-35 will help to “Generate a ready-made force capable of ing a cutting-edge struggle in all domains.”
Prior to the flight to Australia, the squadron's servicemen participated in Exercise Lighting Spear 21 at Eglin Air Force Base from November 01st to 05th. The Commander states that the Lightning Spear was an operational test activity aimed at ing the weapons' integration.
“The back-to-back activities of Lightning Spear and Lightning Ferry demonstrate the agility and maturity of No. 77 Squadron to operate our latest F-35A,” said Ireland.
With Australian Department of Defense
