Aircraft
Pentagon Consolidates European Facilities, Names UK Base for F-35
Lakenheath will be the first permanent European base for the F-35, but the Air Force will leave nearby Mildenhall
A KC-135R of the 100th ARW at RAF Mildenhall. The US Air Force is leaving the British airfield from which it has operated continuously for 55 years. From 2020, Lakenheath will be the only active American airbase in the UK, housing F-35s. (photo: Chris Pocock)
A KC-135R of the 100th ARW at RAF Mildenhall. The US Air Force is leaving the British airfield from which it has operated continuously for 55 years. From 2020, Lakenheath will be the only active American airbase in the UK, housing F-35s. (photo: Chris Pocock)

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced that Royal Air Force station Lakenheath, UK, will be the first European base for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In parallel with the basing decision, the Pentagon said it will return RAF Mildenhall to UK control as part of a facilities consolidation that also affects U.S. bases in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy.