Australia receives 4 F-35A Lightning II JSFs, grows fleet to 54

 

New F-35As arriving at RAAF Base Williamtown. Photo c/o Australia DOD.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has received another batch of 4 F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, which arrived at the RAAF Base Williamtown between 30 August and 02 September 2022.

The aircraft were delivered as part of the Exercise Lighning Ferry 22-3, which involves flying the F-35 fighters from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona in the continental United States, with stops made at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, and Andersen Air Force Base in Guam before reaching Australia.

This is the 3rd such delivery to the RAAF within 2022, which also involves the support provided by the RAAF Air Mobility Group’s KC-30A Mutil-Role Tanker Transport from No. 33 Squadron, and the C-17A Globemaster III from the No. 36 Squadron.

With this delivery, the RAAF now has a total of 54 F-35A fighters, out of the planned fleet of 72.

The new fighters will be joining the RAAF’s No. 77 Squadron, which is part of the No. 81 Wing.

The arrival of the new fighters allowed the RAAF to reach another step forward in increasing its overall F-35A combat capabilities, as it represents an almost 10% increase in the training and combat capacity of its growing fleet.

[1] Australian Department of Defence