US Air Force photo/Jim Haseltine
Lt. Col. George Watkins, the 34th Fighter Squadron commander, drops a GBU-12 laser-guided bomb from an F-35A Lightning II at the Utah Test and Training Range Feb. 25, 2016. The 34th FS is the Air Force's first combat unit to employ munitions from the F-35A.
For the first time ever, a US Air Force F-35A combat unit dropped real bombs during a training exercise, according to an Air Force statement.
"This is significant because we're building the confidence of our pilots by actually dropping something off the airplane instead of simulating weapon employment," Lt. Col. George Watkins said of the exercise.
F-35's have dropped weapons in the past, but this marks the first time one of the actual jets set to deploy once the Air Force declares Initial Operational Capability, or IOC. The Air Force plans to declare the F-35A combat ready between August and December of this year.
US Air Force photo/R. Nial Bradshaw
Airman Juan Rivas, Senior Airman Darion White and Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Kalsbeek, all 34th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron load crew members, prepare to equip an F-35A Lightning II with a GBU-12 laser-guided bomb at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Feb. 23, 2016.
Airmen from the 388th and 419th fighter wings installed and dropped the weapon, a GBU-12 laser-guided bomb, on February 25 at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
"The pilots and weapons loaders in the 388th and 419th fighter wings are perfecting their skills not only to prove aircraft capabilities, but they'll also be the Airmen called upon to take the F-35 to combat, whenever that call may come," Lt. Col. Darrin Dronoff, the director of Hill's F-35 Program Integration Office, said in the statement.
US Air Force photo/R. Nial Bradshaw Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Kalsbeek and Airman Juan Rivas, both 34th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron load crew members, prepare to equip an F-35A Lightning II with a GBU-12 laser-guided bomb at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Feb. 23, 2016.
Though the F-35 has been plagued with expensive setbacks and operational problems, the Air Force plans to test the F-35 in formations of four, a standard configuration in combat zones, as early as March, according to the Air Froce's statement..