Second Stealth F-35 ‘Gorilla’ Squadron Activated At Eglin Air Force Base
August 28, 2021USAFEglin AFBComments Off on Second Stealth F-35 ‘Gorilla’ Squadron Activated At Eglin Air Force Base
Residents near Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida were told they might experience more nighttime noise than usual. It isn’t from late summer thunderstorms, but they will hear the thunderous sound of the Lightning IIs. The base told nearby residents that the 58th Fighter Squadron will be conducting night flying operations involving the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, with the aircraft conducting flight missions between 8 and 9:30 pm nightly. Full story – Return to The Florida Pilot
Eglin Air Force Base is in the western Florida Panhandle, located about three miles (5 km) southwest of ValparaisoFL.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The 96 TW is the test and evaluation center for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, Command and Control systems, and Air Force Special Operations Command systems.
Eglin AFB was established 86 years ago in 1935 as the Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base. It is named in honor of Lt. Col. Frederick I. Eglin (1891–1937), who was killed in a crash of his Northrop A-17 attack aircraft on a flight from Langley to Maxwell Field, Alabama. – Wiki
F-35A Lightning IIs from the 58th Fighter Squadron, 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla., perform an aerial refueling mission May 14, 2013, off the coast of northwest Florida. The 33rd Fighter Wing is a joint graduate flying and maintenance training wing that trains Air Force, Marine, Navy and international partner operators and maintainers of the F-35 Lightning II. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen)The first Department of Defense F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter soars over Destin, Fla., before landing at its new home at Eglin Air Force Base, July 14. Its pilot, Lt. Col. Eric Smith of the 58th Fighter Squadron, is the first Air Force qualified JSF pilot. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)In addition to a myriad of other missions, the massive Eglin AFB is home to the 33d Fighter Wing (33 FW)/58th Fighter Squadron. Eglin AFB is one of those bases I wished I lived near. Not only is Eglin AFB a literal beehive of military aviation activity, but you have Tyndall AFB just to the east, you have Special Forces Hurlburt Field just to the west, and a little further west you have the home of U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team The Blue Angels, NAS Pensacola. Image: Google Earth
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