Largest Lockheed Martin F-35 Fleet Now Resides at Eglin Air Force Base

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 19, 2012 – Piloted by U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Joseph Bachmann, BF-7 departs Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at 2:07 p.m. CST on its 90 minute ferry flight to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. With the delivery of BF-7, a F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) jet, Eglin is now the home of the largest F-35 fleet in the Department of Defense (DoD). BF-7 is assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 with the host 33d Fighter Wing. BF-7 joins two other STOVL jets and six F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) jets for a total of nine Lightning IIs-- more than any other DoD base. BF-7 will be used for pilot and maintainer training at the F-35 Integrated Training Center located at Eglin.