The US Air Force (USAF) is to stand up the 495th 'Valkyries' Squadron as its first overseas unit to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning Ⅱ Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The 48th Fighter Wing at Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath in the United Kingdom made the announcement on 16 February, noting that the new name was selected from a poll taken in December 2020. The first F-35As are set to arrive at RAF Lakenheath towards the end of this year. A second squadron at the base will be announced in due course. Having declared IOC for its conventional take-off and landing variant F-35A in August 2016, the USAF is now ramping up its aircraft numbers and basing locations. The USAF has a programme of record for 1,763 F-35As over the life of the programme, of which 284 have been delivered to date.
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