The F-35s during the Elephant Walk. IMAGE: U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw
On January 6, the U.S. Air Force conducted the “Elephant Walk” exercise involving the launch of 52 fighter jets from a Utah air base. According to reports, Hill Air Force Base launched the F-35A Lightning II jets over a 10-minute period around 11 a.m.
The 388th and 419th Fighter Wings conducted the drill that sent the jets west to the Utah Test and Training Range to perform various missions.
“Today’s exercise marks the accomplishment of over four years of work — a little over four years ago, we received our first F-35,” Col. Michael Ebner, 388th Wing vice commander, told the Deseret News. “We now have our full complement of aircraft and locally, we turn this into a goal of full war-fighting capability.”
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https://twitter.com/F35demoteam/status/1214351537301929984
This drill followed the January 4 remarks by President Donald Trump in which he claimed that the US had targeted 52 Iranian sites, including important for the Iranian culture, that it would strike if Iran attacks any Americans or any U.S. asset in response to the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on January 3.
