TIMELINE FOR DELIVERY OF THE F-35 JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER IS MOVED UP

As you can see, the Navy needs their planes sooner than later. Guess what. They got their wish. It is quite obvious the F-35 Joint Striker Fighter is one of the most important plans ever to come to production and Eglin AFB and the surrounding area is going to be the benefactor. The questions remains for the local area. Are we ready for the demands this program and the Army Special Forces command will bring to our area, i.e. housing, commercial, and quality of life needs?

Joint Strike Fighter timeline moved up
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writerPosted : Saturday Sep 19, 2009 9:28:23 EDT

The Navy’s carrier version of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter will be ready for deployment earlier than expected, a Navy official said.
The Navy’s first F-35C squadron will be operational by September 2014, about six months earlier than the previous target date in 2015, said Lt. Callie Ferrari, a Navy spokeswoman at the Pentagon.
The F-35C’s timeline is critical, Navy officials say, to help reduce the “fighter gap,” the looming shortfall in fighter jets as the older F/A-18 Hornets wear out faster than the F-35Cs will arrive to replace them.
The Navy’s F-35C is slated for its first test flight later this year. The first operational aircraft will begin arriving in 2012 at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where the first F-35 pilots will be trained, Navy officials said.
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