U.S. Air Force F-35As Conduct Airstrikes For The First Time

#USAF #F35A Lighting II conducted its first combat employment. https://t.co/MQIsHH5j8K#AirForce #Aircraft #Aviation@DeptofDefense @usairforce @CENTCOM @USAF_ACC @HAFB pic.twitter.com/wiiiA4kF8m

— US AFCENT (@USAFCENT) April 30, 2019

Defense News: US Air Force conducts airstrikes with F-35 for first time ever

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has finally flown its variant of the F-35 in combat, using two of the aircraft to take out an ISIS tunnel network and weapons cache in Iraq on April 30.

Tuesday’s airstrikes — the first U.S. use of the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing model at war — follow the combat employment Israel Defense Forces’ F-35As in May 2018 and U.S. Marine Corps’ F-35Bs in September 2018.

According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command, the airstrike occurred at Wadi Ashai, in northeast Iraq. An April 24 news release from U.S. Central Command stated that ISIS fighters “have been attempting to move munitions, equipment and personnel” to Wadi Ashai in order to “set conditions for their resurgence,” prompting a counter-offensive by Iraqi Security Forces and supported by Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.

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