The F-35A made its first transatlantic flight last week. An Italian-built F-35A flew from Cameri AB, Italy, to NAS Patuxent River, Md., landing on Feb. 5. The jet, AL-1, was the first international jet fully built in Italy and was flown by an Italian Air Force F-35 pilot who completed training at Luke AFB, Ariz., in November, according to a release from the F-35 program office. The jet will become the first of five Italian F-35s to join the training fleet at Luke. The trip totaled 11 flight hours, including seven refuels from an Italian Air Force KC-767 tanker. “The efficiency and reliability of the aircraft has been 100 percent—we had no issues at all,” the Italian F-35 pilot, Maj. Gian Marco D., said in the release. “This demonstrates the capability of the aircraft itself, of the program.”
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.
