F-35A fighter jet in pictures
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The F-35A Lightning II before heading out on the day's training at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. This is the aircraft of Lt. Col George Watkins, Commander of the 34th Fighter Squadron - the USAF's very first operational F-35 squadron. (Allison Barrie)
The F-35 is a fifth generation fighter that brings enhanced stealth, speed, agility, situational awareness and more to the fight. The USAF flies the F-35A. Pilots leverage new advances built into this cockpit including giant tablet-like devices. (Allison Barrie)
The F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter taxis out for a training sortie followed by an F-16 chase aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. (USAF Samuel King, Eglin Air Force Base)
The Northern Lightning Exercise in August worked on tactical-level joint training with fifth- and fourth-generation capabilities fighting in a highly contested environment. Here a 33rd Fighter Wing F-35A Lightning II escorts a 126th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker and a 176th Fighter Squadron F-16C Fighting Falcon. (USAF Staff Sgt. DeAndre Curtiss)
A USAF F-35A Lightning II flies in formation with a F-16C Fighting Falcon and two U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet during Exercise Northern Lightning August 31, 2016. (USAF Staff Sgt. DeAndre Curtiss)