Page 8 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt, November 2020

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November 2020
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Two U.S. Air One U.S. Air
Force and Force and two
two Royal Royal Austra-
Australian air lian air force F-
force F-35A 35A Lightning
Lightning IIs IIs assigned to
assigned to the 61st Fight-
the 61st Fight- er Squadron at
er Squadron Luke Air Force
at Luke Air Base, fly in
Force Base, formation over
break forma- Humphrey’s
tion during a Peak during a
commemora- commemora-
tion flight Oct. tion flight Oct.
8, over Bag- 8, near Flag-
dad, Arizona. staff, Arizona.
Joint training makes Australia’s

F-35 mission operational

Mission (from Page 1) a deployed environment are very the end of 2020 to use Luke as a our pilots to get an exchange assign- The joint pilot-training at Luke
likely, according to Baker. staging ground for jet deliveries ment at RAAF Base Williamtown,” AFB makes RAAF’s F-35 mission
“Other than the way the aircraft “Most of the Australian pilots to be brought back to Australia.” Hayes said. “They would serve over fully operational in Australia.
is painted, they’re all exactly the that have come through here at The maintenance training con- there for two or three years, just “It’s more than we just wear the
same, so we have that common plat- Luke have worked with the U.S. Air cluded in early 2020 due to CO- like we have exchange assignments same patches,” Hayes said. “There’s
form of flying the F-35,” Hayes said. Force before in the Middle East,” VID-19, although pilot training will with other partners. The Air Force a deeper meaning to what this part-
“The common tactic is sharing the Baker said. “I don’t think you’d continue to December 2020. Personnel Center (AFPC) is actively nership does here at Luke, and it
same training strategies between meet many RAAF or U.S. Air Force Baker explained that the RAAF seeking applications to send.” has strategic-level implications.”
the RAAF and the U.S. Air Force.” pilots that haven’t interacted with established one operational and
Baker said that COVID-19 de- each other before in some capac- one training F-35A squadron at
layed some of the RAAF student ity, either operationally or in an RAAF Base Williamtown and plans
pilot training, but the student pilots exercise somewhere.” to establish another operational
are determined to complete their The RAAF and U.S. Air Force squadron in January 2021. As of
requirements swiftly and efficiently. student pilots complete the same October 2020, five RAAF F-35s are
“I am continually amazed at how nine-month undergraduate train- assigned to the 61st FS. The first
the students learn so quickly,” ing course where pilots learn how to F-35 was delivered to RAAF Base
Baker said. “They come in the operate and employ the F-35. Aus- Williamtown in 2018 and the 30th
door knowing very little or noth- tralian and U.S. instructor pilots F-35 is scheduled to return to Aus-
ing about the F-35 and four or five lead the training during courses, tralia by December 2020. Seventy-
months later, they’re flying high- Hayes said. two F-35s are ordered and the last
end, large-force-employment exer- “Our mission, which aligns with one is projected to be delivered to
cise missions with multiple aircraft the 61st mission, is to train the Australia by 2024.
involved in a dense surface-to-air world’s most capable fighter pilots,” Baker said the RAAF is aiming to
missile threat scenario.” Baker said. “For Australia, we declare Initial Operational Capabil-
The chances of the RAAF and the train pilots and maintainers here ity – when a capability achieves its
U.S. Air Force working together in at Luke. We will continue beyond minimum threshold to support op-
erations – by December 2020, ahead
of the timeline. The RAAF’s first
B-course for student pilot training
is scheduled to launch in January
2021 and will be taught by instruc-
tor pilots who trained at Luke AFB.
In 2019, 34 fighter pilots were
assigned to the 61st Fighter Squad-
ron and 17 were RAAF pilots. As of
October 2020, there are five RAAF
instructor pilots, seven student
pilots and two maintainers who
continue to execute the joint train-
ing partnership mission.
Hayes says that Luke will con- U.S. Air Force photos by Staff Sgt. Alexander Cook
tinue to maintain an alliance with A U.S. Air Force and two Royal Australian air force F-35A Lightning IIs
the RAAF in the future through assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, fly in
exchange programs. formation over Grand Canyon along the Colorado River during a com-
“To be able to keep those formal memoration flight Oct. 8. The flight celebrated the partnership between
A U.S. Air Force and a Royal Australian air force F-35A Lightning II as- connections we’re heavily looking the RAAF and U.S. Air Force in their joint efforts in training the world’s
Staff Sgt. Alexander Cook, 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, gets a chance to show off his perspective while capturing the joint flight of RAAF and U.S. Air Force F- signed to the 61st Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, fly in forma- into exchange programs, where most capable fighter pilots at Luke AFB. The flight marked the final sortie
35A Lightning IIs in the skies over Arizona. tion over downtown Phoenix during a commemoration flight Oct. 8. we’re actively trying to get one of between the two nations before Luke AFB’s Australian partners depart.