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On September 21st, 2023, the 15,000thÌýF-35 maintainer graduated through the training system. This milestone is a testament to the growth of the F-35 training program and new nations that are joining the F-35 enterprise.

Nikinhio Veramendi of the United States Air Force is the official 15,000thÌýgraduate and is going on to support the 756 Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Luke Air Force Base. Veramendi shared his excitement for the opportunity to support this 5thÌýGeneration fighter and is looking forward to supporting his future squadron in Arizona.

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Maintenance Training Hub

Nestled on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida is the Academic Training Center, or the home of F-35 maintenance training. This 260,000 square foot facility is where maintainers for the F-35 program come to get their training to be proficient in supporting the world’s most advanced fighter jet.

Within the ATC are 21 classrooms and 33 training devices, including those for maintainer and pilot training. Since this is a shared facility, the °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±ÀúÊ· team supporting F-35 training is working in lockstep with the US military customer and stays committed to the mission of producing world class pilots and maintainers.

Crawl. Walk. Run.

The approach to maintenance training at the ATC starts with classroom instruction where maintainers are first introduced to the F-35. From here, they will move into a virtual training environment on the Aircraft Systems Maintenance Trainer (ASMT). This allows them to take off panels, walk around the jet and understand what to expect when they get to the actual aircraft – think of it like playing a video game, but no additional side quests.

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Finally, the students get specialized hands-on training in F-35 Maintenance Training Devices including the Weapons Load Trainer, Ejection Seat Maintenance Trainer and various other devices or labs. The style of learning that °ÄÃÅ¿ª½±ÀúÊ· leads allows for better training without putting ware on jets and keeping them flying

The F-35 training program now touts 15,000+ maintainers and 2,145+ pilots trained to date. With 27 current customer training sites and the team on track for 32 by 2025, the F-35 fleet will remain ahead of ready.Ìý