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  • 388th, 419th Fighter Wings aim to boost readiness, align training

    The active duty 388th and reserve 419th Fighter Wings from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, joined forces to complete the largest integrated off-station F-35A Lightning II exercise in their history, while they work toward synched deployment planning and training.

  • Bamboo Eagle’s scale provides valuable lessons for Hill Airmen

    Airmen from the active duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings deployed with the 421st Fighter Squadron and Fighter Generation Squadron recently returned from Bamboo Eagle, a week-long exercise that took place over expanses of the western United States and eastern Pacific Ocean. 

  • Hill AFB fighter wings deploy Airmen, F-35As to Japan

    This week, Active duty and Reserve Airmen from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings here deployed the F-35A Lightning II to Kadena Air Base, Japan, as part of an effort to assure allies and deter threats to stability in the Pacific region. 

  • 388th and 419th FW airman return to Hill following Middle East deployment

    Pilots, maintainers, and support personnel from the U.S. Air Force’s 388th Fighter Wing and U.S. Air Force Reserve’s 419th Fighter Wing have returned to Hill Air Force Base after completing their deployment of the F-35A Lightning II to U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility (AOR) throughout

  • 419 FW puts on aerial display for collegiate aviation students

    The 419th Fighter Wing championed the efforts to bring the students of National Intercollegiate Flying Association, Safety and Flight Evaluation Conferences, competition an aerial display that they will never forget. The air was buzzing with anticipation when two thundering booms echoed through the

  • Young F-35A maintainers benefitting from Red Flag experience

    Maintainers from the 421st Fighter Generation Squadron and the 419th FW's 466th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron are currently deployed to Red Flag, the Air Force’s premier combat exercise. They are generating multiple F-35A sorties twice a day to support the exercise’s large, complex scenarios. For

  • Hill Airmen return home after multinational exercises in Europe

    Aircraft and Airmen from the 4th Fighter Squadron returned to Utah this week after deploying the F-35A Lightning II to Europe a little more than a month ago. The squadron, compromised of active duty Airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing and Reservists from the 419th FW here, participated in Atlantic

  • 4th Fighter Squadron enhances interoperability during Atlantic Trident 21

    U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft and Airmen from the 4th Fighter Squadron, compromised of active duty Airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing and reservists from the 419th FW, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, are participating in Atlantic Trident taking place at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base,

  • Hill Airmen, F-35 tested during concurrent exercises at Tyndall AFB

    Airmen from Hill’s fighter wings recently deployed the F-35A Lightning II to Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., for concurrent training exercises – one a large-scale, joint-force air war, called Checkered Flag, the other an air-to-air weapons evaluation, Combat Archer.

  • Hill F-35 pilots prepare for worst-case water scenarios

    U.S. Air Force F-35 pilots from the 419th and 388th Fighter Wings met with specialists in Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape – better known as SERE – at a local indoor swimming pool near Hill AFB for a hands-on refresher course on how to survive following ejection. That included simulated

  • Hill Airmen deploy F-35A for large combat exercise

    Airmen from the active duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing here are deploying to Nellis AFB, Nev., to take on a tough adversary – other Airmen. Approximately 200 Airmen from Hill AFB will participate in Red Flag 21-1 from Jan. 25 to Feb. 12.

  • Team Hill tests near-instant launch capabilities of fighter wings

    Team Hill carried out a short-notice exercise, launching F-35A Lightning IIs to intercept two civilian “red air” aircraft over the Utah Test and Training Range. The exercise tested the ability of the active duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings to perform nearly instantaneous launches from Hill

  • Two Hill fighter squadrons complete simultaneous combat exercises

    During the first two weeks of November, two of the 388th Fighter Wing’s F-35A Lightning II squadrons employed live weapons in combat training during simultaneous exercises here and at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Airmen from the 4th Fighter Squadron, including Reservists from the 419th FW, deployed

  • 421st Fighter Squadron returns to Hill AFB

    Hundreds of Airmen from the expeditionary 421st Fighter Squadron returned to Hill Air Force Base today following a six-month deployment to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. The deployment, in support of the United States Air Force Central Command mission, included both Airmen from the active

  • F-35 wings test combat capability

    The active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing participated in a rigorous training exercise this week aimed at testing their combat capability. Pilots and maintainers from the wings have been flying and generating roughly 80 sorties per day, some into the nighttime hours.

  • 4th Fighter Squadron wraps up three weeks of training in Alaska

    The 388th Fighter Wing’s 4th Fighter Squadron, along with Reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing, returned Saturday after three weeks of training in Alaska, including Red Flag 20-3 at Eielson Air Force Base. Red Flag is a large force combat exercise that takes place several times each year at both

  • 388th Fighter Wing develops leaders with every sortie

    The 388th Fighter Wing launches between 50-100 combat training sorties nearly every day from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The training program is crucial not only to prepare for deployments, but also to develop leaders who will push the Air Force's F-35 capabilities further in the future.

  • Hill Airmen take F-35 to Alaska for three weeks of training

    Airmen from the active duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings are heading north with the F-35A for three weeks of training alongside a variety of other Air Force units at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Different from the Red Flags the wing has completed at Nellis AFB, Nevada, which focused

  • For third time, Hill AFB fighter wings deploy F-35As to Middle East

    For the third time in approximately 12 months, Airmen from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings deployed F-35A Lighting IIs into combat. The 421st Fighter Squadron departed Hill AFB recently for Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, to support the United States Air Force Central Command mission in

  • First group of Airmen from Hill’s 34th Fighter Squadron return home

    Airmen from the active duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings returned home following a six-month deployment to the Middle East. The 34th Fighter Squadron’s deployment, which started in November, 2019, was first F-35 Immediate Response Force deployment as well as the second F-35A Lightning II

  • Hill fighter wings continue flying operations amid COVID-19 crisis

    The active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing are continuing to train and fly the F-35A Lightning II despite the current global Coronavirus outbreak in segmented operations that allows separation between groups of Airmen who may be needed to deploy at any time.

  • Record-setting first sortie for wing's newest F-35A

    The 388th Fighter Wing set a speed record for bringing online a newly-delivered aircraft last week, flying a local sortie less than five hours after accepting delivery of its 68th F-35A Lightning II. F-35A program’s production and delivery plan was designed to allow rapid aircraft induction and

  • Hill F-35As arrive at Spangdahlem

    The U.S. Air Force has deployed one squadron of F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft, Airmen, and associated equipment to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings, at Hill AFB, Utah, to participate in exercises and conduct training with other Europe-based aircraft as part

  • Load 'em up: F-35A from A to B? Ask Fanter

    How do you pack an F-35A into a C-17? Or move nearly 300 Airmen, and all the equipment, to support 12 aircraft around Europe for two months? Or make sure you have enough of everything that you’ll need, and almost nothing that you don’t?For nearly 5 years at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, the answer has

  • Hill fighter wings conduct combat exercise

    The active duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings conducted an integrated combat capability exercise April 30-May 2.The friendly and enemy forces were made up of F-35s from Hill, F-16s from the 311th Fighter Squadron at Holloman AFB, New Mexico and 80th FS at Kunsan Air Base, Korea, and a team

  • Hill F-35A units assist in F-16 fighter training

    Brand new F-16 pilots received a unique training experience here with the help of the active duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings and the F-35A Lightning II.For the last two weeks, F-16 basic course students and instructor pilots from the 311th Fighter Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base, New

  • Combat exercise, weapons evaluations mean busy May at Hill

    Communities surrounding Hill Air Force Base will notice increased flying and numbers of aircraft through much of May as the base’s fighter wings conduct a large combat exercise and host a weapons evaluation.The active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing, along with F-16 units from

  • 'Lethal' F-35A heading to Red Flag 19-1

    Pilots and maintainers from the 388th Fighter Wing are bringing the F-35A and ‘increased lethality’ as they take a lead role in Red Flag 19-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, From Jan. 26 - Feb. 15, approximately 200 Airmen from Hill AFB, including reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing, will

  • 421st Fighter Squadron and AMU receive first F-35A

    The 421st Fighter Squadron here received its first F-35A Lightning II Dec. 12. The squadron is the last of three squadrons in Hill’s 388th Fighter Wing to take possession of combat-ready aircraft, bringing the 388th Fighter Wing closer to full strength. The arrival of the first jets in the 421st

  • 388th FW, 419th FW fly 10,000th F-35A sortie

    Maj. Daniel Toftness, a reservist in the 419th Fighter Wing, departs for a sortie in an F-35A Lightning II Oct. 18, 2018, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The flight marked the 10,000th sortie with the aircraft at Hill since the first operational F-35s arrived in September 2015.

  • 388th, 419th FW's weapons load crews compete

    Loading weapons on an aircraft is a coordinated effort, requiring communication, teamwork, precision, and in wartime, speed. The active duty 388th and reserve 419th Fighter Wings recently held a weapons loading competition to test the effectiveness of four weapons crews in all those areas in

  • 388th FW dialing-in cannon loading, firing in training

    The 388th Fighter Wing’s 4th Aircraft Maintenance Unit and 4th Fighter Squadron were the first operational units to load and fire the F-35A’s cannon during training Aug. 13, and what they learned will influence how they train and fight.Loading and firing the cannon was one of the few capabilities

  • PHOTOS: 388th FW fires F-35A cannon for first time

    Pilots from the 388th Fighter Wing’s 4th Fighter Squadron were the first operational unit to fire the F-35A’s 25 mm cannon in a strafing run during training. The two-ship formation fired on two sets of ground targets on the Utah Test and Training range Aug. 13. Loading and firing the cannon was one

  • PHOTOS: 388th, 419th FWs load F-35A cannon

    Maintenance Airmen from the 4th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, accomplish the first-time operational loading of 25 mm target rounds in an F-35A Lightning II, Aug. 10, 2018, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The F-35A is the only F-35 variant with an internal cannon. It is capable of firing 50 rounds per

  • 388th Fighter Wing standing up final F-35A aircraft maintenance unit

    Hill’s 388th Fighter Wing recently began standing up the last of its aircraft maintenance units, a big step toward receiving the full complement of F-35A Lightning IIs by the end of 2019. The 421st AMU, which will support the 421st Fighter Squadron, is preparing to receive its first aircraft in

  • Hill Airmen, aircraft progress together as F-35A program matures

    Two years after the Air Force declared IOC for the F-35A, pilots and maintainers at Hill’s active duty 388th and reserve 419th Fighter Wings are steadily erasing the word “initial” from in front of “operational capability.”Since the IOC announcement on Aug. 2, 2016, Airmen and the jet have grown

  • Airmen, jets return from Japan deployment

    Airmen and F-35A aircraft from the active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing returned here May 4-5 following a six-month deployment to Kadena Air Base, Japan. The deployment was part of a routine “theater security package” that demonstrates continuing U.S. commitment to stability

  • Hill’s 4th FS/AMU receives first F-35A

    Hundreds cheered the historic arrival of the 4th Fighter Squadron’s and 4th Aircraft Maintenance Unit’s first F-35A as tail number 5133 landed on base Wednesday and taxied into Hotel Row.

  • F-35As arrive in Bulgaria

    Two F-35A Lightning II aircraft and approximately 20 supporting Airmen arrived at Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Bulgaria, today, from RAF Lakenheath, England. The F-35As are participating in the first-ever training deployment to Europe. The aircraft and total force Airmen are from the 34th Fighter

  • F-35As deploy to Estonia for the first time

    Two F-35A Lightning II aircraft and approximately 20 supporting Airmen arrived at Ämari Air Base, Estonia, today, from RAF Lakenheath, England. The F-35As are participating in their first-ever training deployment to Europe. The aircraft and total force Airmen and are from the 34th Fighter Squadron,

  • F-35A nearly combat ready

    The first deployment exercise for the F-35A Lightning II confirmed that the Air Force’s newest fighter jet is on track to reach initial operational capability later this year. A declaration of IOC means the F-35A will be combat ready.