Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley announces that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be called the Lightning II at a ceremony unveiling the first flight-test model at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility. The moniker is a tribute to the original P-38 Lightning fighter, flown by the top two American aces, Maj. Richard Bong and Maj. Thomas McGuire.
F-35As from the Vermont Air National Guard have deployed to Puerto Rico in recent days, continuing a major buildup of U.S. Air Force assets in Latin America aimed at combating drug trafficking and pressuring the regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
