| Description: |
The Lockheed F-35 is an advanced stealth fifth generation fighter combining speed and superb agility. In 2017 RAF and Royal Navy F-35B pilots would be trained by the No. 207 Squadron at RAF Markham. It wasn’t until July 16, 2019 that the first F-35s arrived and the F-35 Lightning Operational Conversion Unit stood up on August 1, 2019. The first batch of F-35s arrived in June 2018 with F-35B Lightning II ZM158 c/n 2BK0024 and two other aircraft as part of the fifth batch arrived on Thursday October 28, 2021. In February 2022 ZM158 was part of a fly past celebrating the 80th anniversary of the 8th Air Force. "Beast Mode" is the secondary configuration after operating in "Stealth Mode" to establish air dominance, and increases the weapons capacity from 5,700 lbs to 22,000 lbs. |