Nellis gets three F-35s

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Three F-35s were formally accepted during a ceremony at Nellis Air Force Base last week. The aircraft will be assigned to the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, where they will undergo operational testing. One of the focus areas for the 422nd TES will be to develop tactics. Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, said the group's and squadron's pilots and maintainers "would take the F-35's performance to new heights and define the very tactics the F-35 will one day use to defend freedom around the world." Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Lofgren, U.S. Air Force Warfare Center commander, said he expects to see the same dramatic new tactics development with the F-35A as was seen with the F-22. Nellis is slated to get 36 F-35A Lightning IIs by 2020. The 422nd TES and 53rd TEG are geographically separated units of the 53rd Wing, headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Source: 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, 03/21/13)