USAF First operational F-35As arrive at Hill AFB

The Air Force ushered in a new era of combat air power today as Hill Air Force Base received the service's first two operational F-35As.
Hill's active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing will be the first combat-coded units to fly and maintain the Air Force's newest fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
Hill has been called the "ideal home" for the F-35 because of its proximity to the Utah Test and Training Range and Hill's Ogden Air Logistics Complex, which performs F-35 depot maintenance and modifications.
The 388th and 419th Fighter wings were also the first units in the Air Force to fly combat-coded F-16s when they entered the fleet.
The wings will receive one to two F-35s per month until 72 aircraft have been delivered.
Both the 388th and 419th have trained F-35 pilots ready to begin flying the new jets, and there are more pilots and maintainers currently in training.
The wings will take a week to familiarize themselves with the aircraft, receive parts and begin tracking the aircraft in a maintenance database.
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