The 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla., last week completed its 100th F-35 strike fighter sortie, according to wing officials. Marine Corps Lt. Col. David Berke, commanding officer of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, on July 11 flew the milestone mission, according to Eglin’s July 12 release. The wing’s first 100 sorties included 74 flights of Air Force F-35As and 26 missions of Marine Corps F-35Bs, states the release. The wing, which hosts the initial joint F-35 schoolhouse, began F-35A flight operations in March. F-35B flights commenced in May. The wing’s current flying operations consist of Air Force pilots and marine aviators checking out in their respective service’s F-35 variants. (Eglin photo caption by Maj. Karen Roganov)
A new Navy missile could fill a range gap that the U.S. Air Force needs for its fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation fighters. The Navy’s portfolio acquisition executive for munitions posted information on the AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile online on Aug. 22, the same day it unveiled the project at…