Luke 1 Brings Home Flagship

Luke's 56th Fighter Wing will provide the training and cadre of pilots and maintainers to fill operational bases around the world. The wing's 61st Fighter Squadron received its first F-35 in March 2014 and flew its 1,000th sortie last month. In as soon as 18 months, pilots and maintainers from that unit might be some of the first Airmen to fly operational sorties in combat around the world in the F-35A. The 61st FS now has 20 F-35s assigned, two of which belong to the Royal Australian Air Force, an F-35 pilot training partner nation. Italy and Norway are scheduled to join the Glendale, AZ, base later this year. By 2024, Luke is expected to have six F-35 squadrons with 144 jets and will train pilots and maintainers from 11 countries. Read more: http://bit.ly/1zwaNr1