U.S. Air Force Capt. Emily Thompson Is The First Woman To Fly The F-35 In Combat

U.S. Air Force Capt. Emily Thompson, 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron pilot, dons flight equipment recently at the Aircrew Flight Equipment shop on Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates.

Business Insider: US Air Force pilot becomes the first woman to fly the F-35A stealth fighter into combat

* A US Air Force F-35A pilot recently became the first woman to fly the fifth-generation stealth fighter into combat, according to an Air Force press release.
* Capt. Emily Thompson, call sign "Banzai," made the historic flight in a fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. It was her first combat sortie on her first deployment.
* "Being the first female, it's a pretty big honor," Thompson said this week in an Air Force statement.

A female US Air Force F-35A pilot made history recently by becoming the first woman to fly the the fighter into combat, the Air Force announced this week.

Deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, Capt. Emily Thompson, callsign "Banzai," flew a fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter into combat, becoming the first female pilot to do so. She is on her first deployment, and the flight marked her first combat sortie.

"Being the first female, it's a pretty big honor," Thompson said in an Air Force statement.

"There's a lot of females who have come before me and there's a lot of females already flying combat sorties in other platforms," she said. "So, just to be the person who gets that honor, that first, it just meant a lot."

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More News On U.S. Air Force Capt. Emily Thompson Being The First Woman To Fly The F-35 In Combat

This Air Force pilot is the first woman to fly the F-35 in combat -- Air Force Times
A pilot with the callsign 'Banzai' is the first woman to fly the F-35 in combat -- Task & Purpose
Another Crack in Glass Ceiling: First Female USAF Fighter Pilot to Fly F-35A Recounts 'Big Deal' -- Sputnik