Eglin welcomes final F-35A

The 58th Fighter Squadron became the Air Force's first complete F-35A Lightning II squadron after they welcomed their 26th and final F-35A May 28 at the 33rd Fighter Wing.
F-35A AF-45 was ferried , from Lockheed Martin's F-35 production center in Fort Worth, Texas.
The arrival of the last Air Force joint strike fighter variant scheduled to be stationed at the wing marked a shift in priorities for the 58th FS and 58th Aircraft Maintenance Unit. Both units experienced a series of transitions and accomplishments since the arrival of the first F-35A here July 14, 2011.
The last F-35A delivered is more capable than the first F-35A delivered three years ago as a result of the F-35 program's concurrency development model. The concurrency model executes testing, training and development simultaneously and incorporates feedback from each area into subsequent Low Rate Initial Production blocks produced at Lockheed Martin's factory.
AF-45 arrived with Block 2A software and upgrades, including the use of simulated weapons, datalinks, and night and Instrument Meteorological Conditions flight capabilities.
The arrival of AF-45 is a milestone for the Air Force as we move closer to F-35A Initial Operational Capability in 2016.
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