{"id":32196,"date":"2023-03-31T15:50:20","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T15:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/03\/31\/the-us-air-force-sent-f-35s-to-defend-nato-heres-what-it-learned\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:08:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:08:50","slug":"the-us-air-force-sent-f-35s-to-defend-nato-heres-what-it-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/03\/31\/the-us-air-force-sent-f-35s-to-defend-nato-heres-what-it-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"The US Air Force sent F-35s to defend NATO. Here\u2019s what it learned."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah \u2014 America\u2019s most advanced fighter jet is in its element over Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, NATO\u2019s eastern flank became an ideal proving ground for the F-35 Lightning II, officials with the 388th Fighter Wing here told Air Force Times during a recent visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the active duty 388th FW and the Air Force Reserve\u2019s 419th Fighter Wing became the first American F-35A units to arrive in support of NATO amid the opening volleys of the Russo-Ukrainian War last year. They deployed to Germany\u2019s Spangdahlem Air Base from February to May 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their mission: Vacuum up as much electronic data as possible from the surface-to-air missiles and aircraft dotting Eastern Europe to build a map to guide NATO operations. And, if the situation spilled into NATO countries, to add some muscle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An Air Force F-35A Lightning II from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, taxis to an aircraft shelter on Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Feb. 16, 2022. (Tech. Sgt. Maeson L. Elleman\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t crossing the border. We\u2019re not shooting anything or dropping anything,\u201d said 388th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Craig Andrle in a March 20 interview here. \u201cBut the jet is always sensing, gathering information. And it was doing that very, very well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mission gave the Air Force a chance to hone its new short-notice approach to deployments. It also illustrated advances in the F-35\u2032s ability to communicate with the joint force and quickly adjust to unrecognized threats. And it offered new insight into what the jets are still missing, as the military warns of future fights with Russia or China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 34th Fighter Squadron began awaiting a potential deployment to Europe in October 2021 \u2014 their first time leaving home as part of an \u201cimmediate response force\u201d that can dispatch units within a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the new force-generation model, squadrons are supposed to move through four six-month phases: resetting from their most recent travel; training locally as a unit; participating in larger exercises; and going on alert. That approach aims to give units enough time to rest, train and maintain their jets<\/a> between deployments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When that final window of peak readiness opens, Andrle said, \u201cWe could get a phone call and leave in a matter of days \u2014 to an unknown location, for an indeterminate amount of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A pilot from the 388th Fighter Wing prepares an F-35A Lightning II for deployment to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Feb 15, 2022. The wing’s 34th Fighter Squadron, alongside reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing, deployed to Europe to bolster readiness, enhance NATO’s collective defense posture and further increase air integration capabilities with allied and partner nations. (Capt. Kip Sumner\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Waiting for the go signal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, airmen practiced. And they waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 388th Fighter Wing picked jets that could fly for at least three months without major repairs. Airmen readied their combat gear and practiced wearing gas masks. They got their medical paperwork in order, studied European rules of engagement, learned about the airfields they might use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By mid-February, Russia had amassed more than 130,000 troops along the Ukrainian border. Hill\u2019s intelligence team kept the fighter wings updated on the latest predictions for war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, the 34th Fighter Squadron received its initial warning call. An official go-ahead the next day, Feb. 12, set their plans in motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, as Super Bowl LVI blared from a television at the squadron bar, airmen plotted the 5,100-mile trek to Germany. The next day \u2014 Valentine\u2019s Day \u2014 F-35 pilots said goodbye to loved ones and began to deploy. By Wednesday, Feb. 16, the 34th Fighter Squadron was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the first deployment for many pilots in the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings, which also sent maintainers and other support staff. And it was the first time their families didn\u2019t have the stability of an assured six-month deployment on the calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local leaders and about a dozen spouses gathered on a golf course in the middle of the night to watch the jets leave for Germany, 388th Operations Group Commander Col. Brad Bashore recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHalf of those are probably [seeing] the first time their significant other has ever deployed,\u201d he said. \u201c[There] was a finality to all the preparation. \u2026 It was emotional, but at the same time, they were all together as a family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An F-35A passes overhead as family members gather near the Hill Air Force Base flight line in February 2022 to watch the early morning departure of the 34th Fighter Squadron and its fighter generation squadron. (Micah Garbarino\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Twelve jets and around 300 airmen arrived at Spangdahlem on Feb. 16, 2022. Russia\u2019s assault on Ukraine began eight days later and has since become one of Europe\u2019s bloodiest conflicts since World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

F-35s are designed to block and destroy air defenses that could down allied aircraft, paving the way for other aircraft to enter enemy territory. They also soak up electronic emissions from nearby radars to compile a picture of friendly and unfriendly forces in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airmen saw those threats in Ukraine and Kaliningrad, the Russian province wedged between Lithuania and Poland, Andrle said. The F-35s were able to locate and identify surface-to-air missile sites and pass that information to the rest of the coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had all hoped it was going to work like it\u2019s supposed to, but then to see it actually perform very, very well in that role was great,\u201d Andrle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airmen hopscotched from Spangdahlem to Estonia\u2019s Amari Air Base, Lithuania\u2019s Siauliai Air Base and Romania\u2019s Fetesti Air Base, U.S. Air Forces in Europe said in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Two U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft arrive at Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania, Feb. 24, 2022. (Courtesy of the Lithuanian Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The jet didn\u2019t always recognize objects around it, since assets like air defense systems have digital ways of evading notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, Andrle said: \u201cWe\u2019re looking at an Sa-20 [NATO\u2019s name for the S-300 surface-to-air missile system]. I know it\u2019s an Sa-20. Intel says there\u2019s an Sa-20 there, but now my jet doesn\u2019t ID it as such, because that Sa-20 is operating, potentially, in a war reserve mode that we haven\u2019t seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the F-35 flagged the object for troops who updated and re-uploaded the data into the jet. After that, NATO aircraft knew what they were looking at and how to geolocate it. That makes it harder to take NATO by surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a ton of weapons where we can decimate the entire space,\u201d Bashore said of the F-35. It\u2019s the quarterback: \u201cWe\u2019re sharing data and making sure that everybody has awareness \u2014 surface-to-air and air-to-air \u2014 of what\u2019s out there in the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as Russian troops laid siege to Ukrainian cities next door, Bashore said Hill airmen didn\u2019t see anything provocative during their air policing flights in Eastern Europe. U.S. forces passed Belarussian fighter jets friendly to Moscow, and the military buildup in Kaliningrad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re doing the same thing that we\u2019re doing,\u201d Bashore said. \u201cWe just looked at each other. \u2026 No direct interaction and nothing that was unprofessional on either side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking stock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The airmen returned to Hill in early May 2022. They\u2019ve since tried to build on the lessons they learned overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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