Beginning next year, the demo pilot and team will be from the 388th FW.
The U.S. Air Force announced on September 04, 2019 that its F-35A Demonstration Team will be reassigned to the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, beginning with the 2020 airshow season.
The team, commanded by Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson, is currently assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, under the Air Education and Training Command, since its creation in 2016 as F-35 Heritage Flight Team. After the move to Hill, the team will be part of Air Combat Command, as the F-16, A-10 and F-22 demo teams.
The new demo pilot and team will be selected from the 388th Fighter Wing, which is currently the only combat-coded active duty F-35A wing in the Air Force. The wing, together with the reserve 419th Fighter Wing, was recently deployed to Europe and took part to multiple exercises as part of a TSP (Theater Security Package) while another contingent from the same units was flying combat missions in the CENTCOM AOR (Area Of Responsibility) from Al Dhafra Air Base, in UAE.
Col. Steven Behmer, 388th Fighter Wing commander, stated “As the first Airmen to fly the F-35A operationally every day and deploy it into combat, we know what it can do. We’re excited to be able to demonstrate that power, speed and maneuverability to audiences around the world.”
According to the Air Force, the demonstration team will display the F-35A at approximately 20 airshows starting in March 2020 and running through November.
