1,000th F-35 Training Sortie at 56th Fighter Wing

The 56^th Fighter Wing, at Luke AFB, Ariz., completed its 1,000^th F-35 training sortie on Tuesday, the Air Force said.

The Air Force highlighted this is the fastest F-35 wing to reach the 1,000-sortie milestone in the Department of Defense.

The first official class of student pilots is scheduled to start at the Academic Training Center in May.

Last month, Luke’s first F-35 student sortie was flown by the 56^th Fighter Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus (Defense Daily, March 20).

“I’m extremely proud of the extraordinary work our maintainers are doing to ensure our pilots have mission ready and safe jets,” Pleus said.

There are 20 F-35s assigned to Luke, with two belonging to the Royal Australian Air Force and one to an F-35 pilot training partner nation.