F-35As flew about 10 sorties per day while deployed to RAF Lakenheath, England, training alongside F-15s and other NATO allies. Eight F-35As from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill AFB, Utah, deployed to Lakenheath last month during the first overseas deployment for the F-35A. Lakenheath F-15Cs and F-15Es practiced air-to-air and air-to-ground missions with the F-35s, with many F-15 pilots flying alongside F-35s for the first time, according to a Lakenheath release.
Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.