Aircraft
First F-35s for the Air National Guard
The “Green Mountain Boys” of the Vermont ANG are the first Guard unit to receive the fifth-generation Lightning II
The first aircraft earmarked for the Vermont ANG made its first flight at Fort Worth on July 31. (photo: Lockheed Martin)
The first aircraft earmarked for the Vermont ANG made its first flight at Fort Worth on July 31. (photo: Lockheed Martin)

On September 19 a pair of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs landed at Burlington Air National Guard Base (located at the city’s international airport) to begin the equipment of the first Air National Guard unit to receive the type. The F-35s are the first two of 20 to be assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing, Vermont ANG.

The wing is scheduled to receive seven aircraft before year-end, the first new-build fighters to be delivered to the ANG for several years. The 158th FW will become the second operational wing to operate the F-35A, following the 388th FW (and its Air Force Reserve Command associate 419th FW) at Hill AFB, Utah. The next active-duty operational bases are to be RAF Lakenheath, England (48th FW) and Eielson AFB, Alaska (354th FW).

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