AFMC Command News

  • F135 returns to Arnold for testing in Sea Level facility

    The Pratt & Whitney F135 engine has returned to Arnold Engineering Development Complex for another round of testing, with a fresh engine component the focus of the latest efforts.The F135, which powers the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, is currently undergoing testing in one of the Sea Level Test Cells

  • Senate confirms Barrett to be Air Force secretary

    The 85 to 7 vote makes Barbara Barrett the third consecutive woman confirmed to lead the Air Force and its 685,000 total force Airmen. Barrett replaces Heather Wilson who resigned in May. Undersecretary Matthew Donovan served as acting secretary in the interim.

  • F-35 AGCAS recommended for fielding

    The 412th Test Wing recently published the technical report on the F-35 Automatic Ground and Collision Avoidance System and have recommended it for fielding; seven years ahead of schedule.

  • Wilson, Goldfein outline Air Force progress, need for larger force

    Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein told the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday that the Air Force must get bigger and funding must be predictable to meet – and defeat – security threats at home, globally and in space in an era of great

  • Joint test effort augments Navy, USMC F-35 night refueling

    The F-35 program recently completed testing on an improved lighting assembly with the KC-135 that will enable the Navy and Marine Corps F-35 variants to refuel behind the tanker at night. Flight testing of the redesigned light, which attaches to a refueling probe, was led by Patuxent River Naval Air

  • KC-46 Pegasus connects with fifth-generation fighter

    Pictured above: A KC-46A Pegasus refueling tanker from the 418th Flight Test Squadron connects with an F-35 Lightning II from the 461st Flight Test Squadron Jan. 22 during a test sortie over California. It is the first time the new aerial tanker connected with a fifth-generation fighter. The 418th

  • 461st FLTS pilot makes history

    A routine F-35 flight test mission marked a significant event in Air Force history at Edwards Air Force Base, Dec. 14. Maj. Rachael Winiecki, 461st Flight Test Squadron, took off that morning in her F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and was later greeted by members of the squadron after she completed the

  • Joining forces: Test team completes fourth Orange Flag of 2018

    In the skies above California, an F-35 and F-16 from Edwards Air Force Base are joined by an F-15E and F-22 from the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron out of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, along with a Navy F-18 from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 out of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake,

  • New tech to ease F-35A flight line maintenance

    HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Maintainers on Hill’s flight line are beginning to utilize new high-tech, hand-held tablets to work on the F-35A, America’s most advanced multi-role fighter aircraft.“I am passionate about my job and I want to do it well. These tablets are going to help me do that,” said

  • 388th Fighter Wing standing up final F-35A aircraft maintenance unit

    HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- The 388th Fighter Wing recently began standing up the last of its aircraft maintenance units, a big step toward receiving the full complement of F-35A Lightning IIs by the end of 2019. The first operational F-35s landed at Hill Air Force Base in October 2015. Since then,