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DUGWAY, Tooele County — The U.S. Air Force reached a milestone at the Utah Test and Training Range this week when a combat unit released live weapons from the military's new fighter jets for the first time.
Airmen from multiple fighter wings belonging to the Hill Air Force Base 34th Fighter Squadron deployed laser-guided bombs from the F-35A aircraft, the Air Force announced Friday.
"This is significant because we're building the confidence of our pilots by actually dropping something off the airplane instead of simulating weapon employment," Lt. Col. George Watkins, commander of the 34th Fighter Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, said in a statement.
It is anticipated the the U.S. military will declare the F-35A capable of combat toward the end of 2016, according to Hill Air Force Base.
Lt. Col. Darrin Dronoff, who directs the F-35 Program Integration Office for Hill Air Force Base, said this week's training was important preparation for the use of the aircraft in an actual war zone.
"The pilots and weapons loaders … are perfecting their skills not only to prove aircraft capabilities, but they'll also be the airmen called upon to take the F-35 to combat, whenever that call may come," Dronoff said.
