Fifth Generation Formation Flight

Posted 19 September 2012

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Photo by MSgt. Jeremy T. Lock

An operational F-35A Lightning II and an operational F-22 Raptor were flown in formation for the first time on 19 September 2012. The F-35, piloted by Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, the commander of the 58th Fighter Squadron at Eglin AFB Florida, met up with Col. Charles Corcoran, the commander of the 325th Operations Group flying an F-22 assigned to the 43rd FS at Tyndall AFB, Florida, at the Compass Lake training airspace near Tyndall. An Air Force photographer captured the event from the backseat of an F-16D, also assigned to Eglin. The aircraft were flown together over Tyndall, over Panama City, and then near Destin and Eglin before the pilots returned to their respective bases. The first F-35/F-22 formation flight, which used dedicated test aircraft, came in April 2011.

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