Lockheed Martin announced Monday that it has installed the first weapons-load training device at the F-35 integrated pilot-and-maintenance training center at Eglin AFB, Fla., home of the 33rd Fighter Wing. This system will allow maintenance students to hone their skills loading munitions, fuel tanks, and missile systems onto all three F-35 strike fighter variants, according to the company. The device will complement classroom academics and additional hands-on experience. “We are focused on delivering an agile training capability to the newest crop of fifth generation pilots and maintainers,” said Joanne Puglisi, Lockheed’s director of F-35 training and support. This installation is the latest step in the build-up of the F-35 ITC. The center may host up to five weapons-load trainers, said the company.
A new Air Force plan for how many fighters it needs in the next decade marks a sharp upturn from what it thought it needed just seven years ago. But analysts worry that the aspirational plan now in Congress' hands doesn’t make a tight enough connection to national strategy.
