The active duty 388th Fighter
Wing and Reserve 419th FW conducted a combat power exercise here Jan. 6,
launching 52 F-35A Lightning IIs in rapid succession.
The fighter wings are home to
78 aircraft, which cost $85 million each. As the Air Force’s only
combat-capable F-35A units, the wings must be prepared to launch any number of
aircraft to support the national defense mission at a moment’s notice. Last
year, they began regularly supporting combat operations with the F-35A with
consecutive deployments.
From April to October 2019,
they deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, and conducted combat
operations in support of the Central Command mission in the region. In October,
they departed on their second combat deployment.
Currently, the wings fly
30-60 sorties per day from Hill’s flightline. During the exercise, Airmen
launched roughly the same number of daily sorties, but they took off in quick
intervals.
Launching aircraft from
multiple squadrons simultaneously presents various challenges and allows the
wings to evaluate the capabilities of maintenance professionals, as well as
pilots and command and control teams.
The exercise was part of
normal, scheduled training operations and not a response to any current events.
By comparison, the F-16
fighter in the U.S. arsenal costs $19 million each.
So far, 4,604 F-16’s have
been built by General Dynamics.
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