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Thunderbolt selected to fly F-35

  • Published
  • By Justin Oakes
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base will soon begin looking for a new wing weapons officer.

Maj. Josh Wood, current 56th FW Weapons officer, will soon be departing Luke AFB and no longer fly F-16s, but the next generation aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.

With Air Force bases across the globe submitting recommendations, Major Wood is one of five pilots selected out of approximately 150 candidates to fly the F-35.

"First off, I'm extremely humbled and it means the world to me," said Major Wood. "I can't describe what an unbelievable opportunity this is."

Major Wood has spent 10 years in the Air Force and has been stationed at Luke since July 2008. He has more than 1,430 flight hours in an F-16 and approximately 1,650 total flight hours. 

The future F-35 pilot attributes his selection to something a little more than a decade of experience and more than a thousand hours of flight time.

"It was the right combination of luck, timing, superior leadership and God's sovereignty that allowed me to be chosen," Major Wood said. "Coming to Luke also played an integral part. I was afforded the opportunity to be both a basic F-16 instructor and a weapons officer at the largest F-16 base in the world. And both positions were selection criteria for the F-35 program."

The F-35 Lightning II and the F-16 Fighting Falcon share several similarities that will make the transition easier, Major Wood said.

"Both are single engine, multirole aircraft that share stick and hands-on throttle likeness," Major Wood said. "The cockpit of the F-35 was heavily influenced by and bears a strong resemblance to the F-16."

But what Major Wood is looking forward to are not the similarities, but the differences in technology and enhancements in capabilities the new Joint Strike Fighter offers.

"A new helmet-mounted display system, electro-optical targeting system and a distributed aperture system are just a few of things I'm looking forward to getting my hands on," Major Wood said.

A synthetic aperture system provides pilots with a unique protective sphere around the aircraft enhancing situational awareness, missile and aircraft warning, day and night vision and fire control capability.

"Through the use of this new aircraft, we will be able to bridge the gap from current threat to capability," Major Wood said. "We will have the ability to go anywhere and continue making our mark on air dominance and supremacy."

In four weeks Major Wood departs for a one-year short tour at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, before moving to Eglin AFB and begin flying the new F-35.

Seeing how I'm a Tallahassee, Fla., native, the location couldn't better, Major Wood said.

"We also have grandparents in Florida. And for the first time ever, we'll be stationed less than 1,000 miles from home," Major Wood said. "We are all very excited and this is a positive thing all the way around. The entire family is excited to be a part of this effort."