Within the framework of the eleventh iteration of the bilateral Talisman Sabre 25 exercises—held in Australia’s Northern Territory region—the U.S. Air Force has announced that, for the first time, its pilots flew Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-35A stealth fighters. According to the official statement, the event took place on July 16 and involved two evaluator pilots from the 48th and 388th Fighter Wings.
Among the official statements, one that stands out is from Major Justin Lennon, a pilot from the aforementioned 48th Fighter Wing, who said: “In the short term, Interfly events like this allow us to exchange information and best practices. In the long term, as a coalition, normalizing Interfly gives commanders additional options for agility and versatility in a future conflict. In a prolonged conflict, aircraft can fly more hours per day than a pilot. Having the added flexibility to put any pilot in any F-35 and generate combat airpower anywhere in the world increases the lethality of the F-35 coalition.”
It is worth noting that the Royal Australian Air Force has been increasingly promoting this type of activity since 2023 under an initiative dubbed Lightning-X. The goal, as stated by Major Lennon himself, is to facilitate knowledge-sharing among allies and build confidence in scenarios where foreign pilots may be required to operate local aircraft during high-intensity conflicts.
In this vein, it should also be noted that Australia not only invited U.S. Air Force pilots but also those from the U.S. Marine Corps, who operate the F-35B variant. One Marine Corps pilot was also sent for this purpose. Collectively, the U.S. pilots underwent simulator testing and classroom instruction identical to that given to local pilots prior to flying, and all three were cleared without major issues to operate Australian F-35s.
In Lennon’s words: “The crew doesn’t get treated any differently than any other RAAF F-35 pilot during Talisman Sabre 25. The only way someone could tell it’s not an Australian in the RAAF F-35 is the accent on the radio.” It’s also worth mentioning that the U.S. pilots were integrated into RAAF’s No. 75 and No. 77 Squadrons, both of which are equipped with the F-35 fighters acquired by Canberra and fully delivered as of December last year.
*Image credits: U.S. Air Force
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