Two production F-35B Lightning II short takeoff/vertical landing fighters were ferried to Eglin AFB, Florida, on 10 May 2012, marking the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth F-35 deliveries to the US Department of Defense. The F-35Bs were delivered to the US Marine Corps and are assigned to Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) at the F-35 Integrated Training Center and will be used for pilot and maintainer instruction. Marine Corps Aviators Maj. Joseph Bachmann and Lt. Col. Matt Kelly flew the aircraft (Bureau Numbers 168060 and 168061), departing from NAS JRB Fort Worth, Texas, sixteen minutes apart, and arriving at the base on the Florida panhandle about ninety minutes later. The aircraft are the tenth and eleventh F-35s to join Eglin’s fleet.
