The first production version F-35A, dubbed AF-6, makes its first flight. AF-6 flew for one hour out of Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, production facility.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.