FORT SMITH, Ark. — Germany’s first F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter arrived at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on October 5–6, 2026, transitioning from Lockheed Martin’s final assembly and checkout facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
The arrival initiates the U.S.-based operational training phase for German Air Force (Luftwaffe) aviators and maintainers under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) framework. Ebbing ANGB serves as the primary FMS training hub for allied fifth-generation fighter integration. A total of eight German F-35A aircraft will be stationed temporarily at Ebbing ANGB through early 2027 to build initial cadre strength before the first operational jets deploy in-country to Büchel Air Base, Germany, in late 2027.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: GERMAN AIR FORCE (LUFTWAFFE) F-35A PROGRAM 
* Aircraft Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (Fort Worth, TX)
* Operating Forces: German Air Force / Luftwaffe (Tactical Air Wing 33 / Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33)
* Program of Record: 35 F-35A Lightning II Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) aircraft
* Primary Training Hub: Ebbing Air National Guard Base (Fort Smith, AR) — FMS Pilot Training Center
* Programmatic Timeline & Force Generation:
* U.S. Base Delivery: October 2026 (First aircraft arrival at Ebbing ANGB)
* Stationed Training Fleet: 8 aircraft assigned to Ebbing ANGB through April 2027
* Student Training Onset: December 2026 (~70 pilots and 6 instructor pilots over a 5-year pipeline)
* In-Country European Arrival: Late 2027 (Büchel Air Base)
* Full Operational Capability (FOC) Target: 2029
* Mission Profile & System Integration:
* Primary Operational Roles: Suppression / Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD), tactical strike, and NATO Nuclear Sharing Mission
* Legacy Fleet Replacement: Replacing the Panavia Tornado IDS fleet operated by TaktLwG 33
* Sensor Suite & Survivability: AN/APG-81 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS), Distributed Aperture System (DAS), and advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) suites
