The US Air Force has received its 500th Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, marking a major milestone in the program. The stealth fighter, serial 22-5816, has been assigned to the 159th Fighter Squadron under the 125th Fighter Wing of the Florida Air National Guard at Jacksonville ANGB. It arrived together with two others—serials 22-5817 and 22-5865—in early July 2025.
By Jarryd Sinovich
The 159th expects to field twenty F-35As in total, replacing its retired F-15C/Ds. The 125th FW is the fourth Air Guard unit to operate the F-35A, joining the 158th FW in Vermont, 187th FW in Alabama and 115th FW in Wisconsin. During its transition the wing will continue flying a mix of its own aircraft and loaned jets from sister units to sustain mission readiness.
The delivery marks another milestone for the global F-35 program. In September 2024 Lockheed Martin handed over its 1,000th F-35 of all variants to the 115th FW at Truax Field, Wisconsin. The company expects to deliver between 170 and 190 aircraft in 2025 alone.
Since the early 2000s the USAF has planned to acquire 1,763 F-35As, with deliveries projected through 2050. By 2030, with an average of 48 new aircraft per year, the F-35A is expected to surpass the F-16 as the most numerous fighter in the USAF inventory.
The aircraft’s long-term future, however, remains fluid. Following its loss of the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) contract to Boeing, Lockheed Martin has proposed a deeper modernization path for the F-35. Beyond the 80 Block 4 upgrades already planned, the company has floated enhancements such as a more powerful engine, improved stealth features and advanced avionics—technologies developed for its NGAD proposal. According to CEO Jim Taiclet, these could offer 80 percent of the F-47 NGAD’s capability at half the cost. The USAF and the F-35 Joint Program Office have so far described these proposals as “notional.”
