The Australian Defence Force's new Joint Strike Fighter has taken to the skies above the Northern Territory for the first large-scale air combat training exercise since the COVID pandemic hit. About a dozen Royal Australian Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighters made the trek to the Top End, along with 40 other aircraft and over 500 Defence personnel, for the month-long exercise.
"Exercise Arnhem Thunder 21 marks the first opportunity the F-35 has had to deploy domestically inside Australia," No. 3 Squadron Commanding Officer Matthew Harper told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's also the first opportunity we've had to drop a large number of bombs from that aircraft."
Wing Commander Harper said the NT was a perfect location for the exercise and would give various RAAF squadrons the opportunity to work together to plan missions and execute them...MORE
