When Will US Air Force F-35s Be Ready for Battle?
On June 30, 2016, three U.S. Air Force F-35As touched down at RAF Fairford in the UK.
By Marcus Weisgerber Read bio
July 7, 2016
The general who will make the decision offered some clues as he celebrated the jet's recent trip across the Atlantic.
RAF FAIRFORD, England – Three F-35A Lightning IIs arrived here last week, the first U.S. Air Force Joint Strike Fighters to make the transatlantic journey. But watchers of the project were more interested in another milestone: When will the plane be ready for war?
“We’re getting very close to initial operational capability,” said Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, the head of Air Combat Command, using the military’s term for battle-ready. Carlisle spoke to reporters Thursday at the Royal International Air Tattoo, a military airshow in central England, where the jets are to perform. “I’ll make the call. I’ll talk to Secretary [Deborah Lee] James and Gen. [David] Goldfein, [the Air Force chief of staff], and we’ll make the decision on when we’re going to declare IOC.”
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