Lockheed pilots, not Air Force pilots will fly the F-35 at the Paris Airshow

The Air Force has announced that two F-35 Lightning II Stealth Fighters will go to Le Bourget Airfield in June to perform at the International Paris Airshow. The show starts on June 19th and ends on June 25th.

An interesting side note is the announcement stated that Lockheed Martin pilots will be flying the F-35s and not Air Force pilots.

Lockheed Martin pilots were chosen to fly instead based on the Air Force’s needs at this time, said Air Force spokesman Capt. Mark Graff.

“Due to the Air Force’s limited number of aircraft, pilots and maintenance professionals, we have decided not to develop an F-35 demonstration profile for airshows this year,” Graff later said in an email Wednesday. “While we look forward to demonstrating the unparalleled maneuverability of the F-35 to the world, we remain singularly focused on bringing the full combat capability of the F-35 to our nation.”

Lockheed Martin pilots have been “building a flight demonstration in simulators and will now practice the demonstration in advance of the Paris Air Show,” he said. – DefenseTech

One F-35 aircraft will be flown to Paris from Hill Air Force Base near Ogden, Utah and the other from Luke Air Force Base in the Phoenix, Arizona area.

Featured image of Paris Airshow by Tech. Sgt. Francesca Popp, US Air Force

This article is courtesy of Fighter Sweep.