Four F-35A strike fighters are scheduled to arrive at Nellis AFB, Nev., at the end of the month to begin the type’s first operational tests, announced base officials. “Nowhere else in the [Defense Department’s] F-35 program . . . is anyone doing any kind of operational test yet. It’s all on the developmental test side,” said Lt. Col. Kevin Wilson, 53rd Wing F-35 integration chief at Nellis. Under the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis’ F-35 work will primarily focus on developing F-35 combat tactics and how the aircraft will team with other Air Force assets, according to the base’s Feb. 13 release. As the F-35A transitions from developmental testing at Edwards AFB, Calif., to more employment trials, Nellis’ F-35 test force will grow to 12 aircraft, states the release. The Fighter Weapons School on base will also get F-35As, eventually operating 24 of them. (Nellis report by SrA. Jack Sanders) (See also Thirty-six F-35s for Nellis.)
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
