Luke’s First Reserve F-35 Instructor

Maj. Justin Robinson will become the first Air Force Reserve Command F-35A instructor pilot assigned to Luke AFB, Ariz. Robinson is currently an instructor with AFRC’s 69th Fighter Squadron, which is transitioning, along with Luke’s Active Duty 56th Wing from F-16 training to F-35 training. “I think going out and learning a new airframe and helping to bring it online offers the kind of challenge that is really appropriate for me at this point,” said Robinson in a June 11 release. To accommodate the transition, the squadron’s parent 944th Fighter Wing plans to grow to as many as 250 maintainers to augment their active duty counterparts. “They will start working on the F-16s initially and then transfer to the F-35” over the next four years, said Col. Kurt Gallegos, 944th FW commander. Luke is slated to host 144 F-35As eventually. Luke’s first F-35 arrived in March.