The first operational F-35As for the US Air Force were delivered to Hill AFB, Utah, on 2 September 2015. Hill's active duty 34th Fighter Squadron (388th Fighter Wing) and the 466th FS, the Air Force Reserve Command associate unit (419th FW), will be the first combat-coded units to fly and maintain the Lightning II. The 388th FW commander, Col. Brad Lyons, flew one of the F-35s to Hill from the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The aircraft (Air Force serial numbers 13-5071 and 13-5072) are the first of seventy-two F-35As that will eventually be assigned to the base in Salt Lake City. The delivery marks the stand-up of the tenth F-35 base and Hill is the fifth Air Force F-35 base.
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