The first F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft-dubbed AA-1-in the Air Force’s conventional takeoff and landing configuration arrives at Edwards AFB, Calif., for three weeks of testing. AA-1 is not a production-equivalent version. (See the Dec. 19, 2008 entry on AF-1.)
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.