USAF reaches milestone with 500th F-35 Lightning II pilot taking to the sky

The US Air Force trained and graduated the 500th F-35 Lightning II pilot across the joint and international enterprise Sept. 19, 2017, at Eglin Air Force Base. Maj. Chris Campbell, 461st Flight Test Squadron director of operations, is an F-16 Fighting Falcon test pilot with more than 1,000 fighter hours and 245 combat hours. He began F-35 Lightning II fighter pilot training at the 33rd Fighter Wing this summer and became the 500th pilot to graduate the program. Read more

Since F-35 pilot training began in 2011, the Air Force has trained and graduated 500 pilots across the joint and international enterprise
(Credit: U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Jensen Stidham)