FEBRUARY 14, 2025 – Airmen from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill Air Force Base deployed here over the weekend with a number of F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft as part of Bamboo Eagle 25-1.
The 421st Fighter Squadron and Fighter Generation Squadron moved forward to NASNI from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. – where they just completed Red Flag 25-1 – to participate in the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center exercise. Bamboo Eagle’s aim is to enhance cooperation, agility and combat readiness.
Bamboo Eagle stretches force elements and command-and-control structures across several “hub and spoke” locations across the Western United States. NASNI is serving as a “spoke” where Airmen will practice providing sorties with a small, flexible, movable team.
The 421st FS will provide the “dominance” the F-35A brings to the modern battlespace. As the nation’s most advanced fighter aircraft, the F-35 provides stealth, survivability, lethality, and a sensor suite that is unmatched in any other fighter.
Interoperability, another key component of the platform’s design, will also be utilized as pilots from the 388th FW fly alongside aircraft from sister services as well as allies in the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force.
“We have had the luxury of operating from safe haven bases for many decades, and modern threats have fundamentally changed that reality,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Niemi, USAFWC commander. “Bamboo Eagle is a big part of helping us figure out how to manage those threats, and training together with our allies improves our ability to face those threats as a unified team.”
In the past, 388th Fighter Wing squadrons have been tasked with quarterbacking the fight, leading offensive and defensive counter air missions.
By Micah Garbarino
388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs