Royal Air Force Gets Second F-35B Lightning II Aircraft

Britain’s Royal Air Force has taken delivery of the second British F-35B Lightning II. The aircraft joins the nine A variants of the joint strike fighter flown by the Air Force and the 11 B variants flown by the Marine Corps to become the largest fleet of F-35s in the world with 22 jets. "It's another exciting day for the United Kingdom and the 33rd Fighter Wing as we build up the F-35 force. The two U.K. jets now will become the backbone of test and evaluation at Edwards [Air Force Base] and we will be adding a third next year," said Sqn. Ldr. Jim Schofield. "It was great to see the first course of U.K. maintainers as I arrived to the VMFAT-501". "The fact that we're starting with the same airframe, same formations, same weapons capabilities, I think that already puts us at a better starting point when we show up to a combat theater together," said Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, squadron commander for the 58th Fighter Squadron, of the integration of forces with the F-35. Later this month, an RAF and RN pilot will begin instructor pilot training, making them the first international pilots trained at Eglin on the fifth-generation, multi-role fighter.