Brig. Gen. David Berkland discusses coaching philosophy, interoperability, simulation, and the persevering with evolution of the F-35 mission.
The 2026 Luke Days airshow packed the ramp with a powerful lineup of plane and drew large crowds, nevertheless, the actual spotlight was getting an inside take a look at the 56th Fighter Wing. Spending time on the bottom supplied a uncommon glimpse into how the wing handles its day-to-day operations.
For many years, Luke Air Pressure Base was synonymous with high-volume F-16 pilot coaching. Over the previous a number of years, that mission has basically modified, securing the bottom as the first schoolhouse for the F-35A Lightning II.
Luke AFB started transitioning from the F-16 to the F-35A within the mid-2010s. This transition required a whole overhaul that went far deeper than swapping out airframes; it pressured a complete rewrite of the bottom’s infrastructure, coaching syllabus, and scholar preparation.
The transfer to the F-35 didn’t change conventional fighter abilities; nevertheless, it positioned better emphasis on info administration, sensor fusion, and understanding the broader operational image. As a result of the jet’s software program and trendy threats modified always, Luke’s whole coaching curriculum needed to stay fluid to maintain tempo.
Luke Air Pressure Base has constructed an unbelievable legacy since 1941, graduating greater than 61,000 army pilots. That footprint has solely expanded as the bottom reworked into the premier coaching hub for the F-35A Lightning II, producing roughly 75 % of the world’s F-35 pilots. The schoolhouse is a very international enterprise, bringing worldwide companions like Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway into Phoenix, Arizona, to coach alongside U.S. crews.
The size of that mission turns into clearer when analyzing how the 56th Fighter Wing is organized at the moment and the way Luke advanced to assist one of the crucial in depth F-35 coaching organizations on the earth.
The 56th Fighter Wing stories on to the Nineteenth Air Pressure, which is a subordinate command of the Air Training and Coaching Command (AETC), though the Division of the Air Pressure is now reassigning the Formal Coaching Items to Air Fight Command. The 56th FW at Luke AFB hosts seven lively F-35A Lightning II coaching squadrons and one F-16C/D squadron, which is devoted to coaching Republic of Singapore Air Pressure pilots.
Coaching Squadrons Assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB:
61st FS “Prime Canine” – USAF, Australia (RAAF) – First F-35 squadron at Luke; RAAF coaching concluded 2020
62nd FS “Spikes” – USAF, Norway, Italy – F-35A Built-in coaching mission with Norway and Italy
63rd FS “Panthers” – USAF – Initially related to Turkish participation
308th FS “Emerald Knights” – USAF, Netherlands, Denmark – Built-in coaching with Dutch and Danish pilots
309th FS “Wild Geese” – USAF – F-35A coaching mission
310th FS “Prime Hats” – USAF – F-35A coaching mission
312th FS “Scorpions” – Belgium – F-35A devoted Belgium conversion unit
425th FS “Black Widows” – Republic of Singapore – Coaching of RSAF F-16C/D Block 52 pilots
The growth of Luke’s F-35 coaching mission prolonged past plane and squadron progress. In line with the 56th Fighter Wing’s 2024 “Flying Ahead” transition plan, the bottom deliberate what was anticipated to grow to be the most important F-35 simulator operation on the earth, with a complete of 32 simulators supporting coaching operations.
The simulator growth displays the rising significance of artificial coaching inside the fifth-generation surroundings. In discussing the brand new functionality, Maj. Shaun Lovett, Chief of Coaching Methods for the 56th Coaching Squadron, famous that the extra Modified Mission Rehearsal Trainers would offer ample capability to duplicate situations involving 4 to 12 F-35s working alongside simulated partner-nation and sister-service contributors. The expanded functionality permits college students to expertise advanced mission units and built-in coaching environments that may be tough to duplicate solely by way of live-flight operations.
Bringing these parts collectively is the central problem going through the 56th Fighter Wing. Plane, simulators, instructors, maintainers, companion nations, and supporting infrastructure should operate as a cohesive coaching system able to producing combat-ready F-35 pilots for each america and allied nations.
To realize extra perception into how the 56th Fighter Wing approaches its coaching mission, The Aviationist interviewed Brig. Gen. David Berkland, Commander of the 56th Fighter Wing. Previous to assuming command of the 56th Fighter Wing, Brig. Common Berkland served as an F-16 teacher pilot and weapons officer and flew fight missions in Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, NORTHERN WATCH, IRAQI FREEDOM, and FREEDOM’S SENTINEL.
He has commanded on the squadron, group, and wing ranges, and instructed on the USAF Weapons College. He has greater than 3,800 flying hours and 930 fight hours. The commander opened up about present coaching philosophies, the realities of allied interoperability, and the way the F-35 coaching mission should evolve alongside digital warfare.
Interview with Brigadier Common David Berkland
Query: Having led by way of the evolution from the F-16 to the F-35, do you are feeling the Wing has totally internalized the operational and cultural implications of fifth-generation airpower, or is that also an ongoing course of?
Culturally, our mindsets are evolving proper alongside these platforms. We’ve tailored nicely to Fifth-generation capabilities whereas bringing ahead an aggressive, problem-solving “Wild Weasel” mindset and making use of it on to the F-35. It’s the dedication of our Airmen that gasoline this mindset and create a warrior ethos throughout the bottom.
Operationally, it’s an ongoing course of as a result of the risk by no means stops advancing, requiring us to always refine our syllabus and simulation environments. Nonetheless, as I put together to transition out of this position and look again at what we’ve completed, I’ve confidence that Luke is totally able to assist fight operations. We’re forging the revolutionary, adaptable wingmen who will completely dominate tomorrow’s combat.
How has the coaching philosophy advanced from emphasizing platform proficiency within the F-16 to educating sensor fusion, info administration, and methods integration within the F-35?
It’s a big shift. Within the F-16, pilots spent quite a lot of power managing sensors to search out threats. The F-35 does the heavy lifting, displaying the battle area and releasing the pilot for high-level tactical decision-making.
An F-35 scholar’s first SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) sortie pits them towards a dense, built-in air protection system to check how they handle a large digital info circulation. This implies our wingmen are taught a tradition of built-in autonomy, in order that mutual assist isn’t gone; it’s simply advanced. We’re preventing as a extremely coordinated, spread-out championship crew. It’s with this championship mentality that Luke Airmen obtain excellence, maximizing our lethality to outmaneuver any adversary.
To what extent do the F-35s used for coaching at Luke mirror the present operational fleet by way of software program and {hardware} configurations?
They’re equivalent. The F-35s we fly right here at Luke mirror the precise software program and {hardware} configurations of the lively operational fleet, and we count on that to proceed for the foreseeable future.
That is essential for constructing our championship crew. The 56th Fighter Wing thrives due to our distinctive partnership with allies, companions, and the area people, whose assist permits for collaboration and continued mission success. Whether or not it’s our U.S. pilots or our worldwide companions coaching and instructing alongside us, everybody must be working the very same superior methods they’ll take right into a high-end fight surroundings. Coaching on the present fleet configuration is how we guarantee seamless interoperability and provides our nation, and our allies, a decisive benefit.
Trying on the whole coaching course of at the moment, what elements of F-35 coaching at Luke would you take into account totally mature, and the place do you continue to see lively growth or refinement?
The fact is that the F-35 is a dynamic platform, and the worldwide risk surroundings is consistently shifting. Due to that, our coaching stays in a steady state of lively refinement.
We’re always updating our techniques, methods, and procedures based mostly on the real-world operational surroundings. Because the jet will get new software program and capabilities, the 56th Fighter Wing quickly modernizes the coaching to match. It’s that relentless pursuit of operational excellence that equips our Airmen to remain forward of the curve, form the way forward for airpower, and win tomorrow’s combat.
Do particular person squadrons at Luke concentrate on completely different phases or elements of the F-35 coaching syllabus, or is coaching standardized throughout the Wing?
Coaching throughout the 56th Fighter Wing is totally standardized. We don’t have squadrons specializing in piecemeal phases of the syllabus.
Each pilot completes their whole coaching program, from their first educational class to their closing verify trip, inside their assigned squadron and each single squadron executes the identical constantly up to date syllabus. We do that as a result of standardization is what builds a cohesive, interoperable drive. Whether or not you might be flying with a U.S. wingman or one among our worldwide allies, everyone seems to be held to the very same normal of fight readiness. We’re constructing a unified, deadly crew that is able to win towards any peer adversary.
Luke trains U.S. and companion nation pilots collectively inside a standard coaching surroundings. Out of your perspective, how does the presence of allied instructors and college students affect the coaching expertise, and what benefits does it present when getting ready pilots for future coalition operations?
The fully-integrated presence of allied instructors and scholar pilots means we belief one another with our lives. That belief makes us extra deadly as a crew, on night-one of main fight operations. When disaster strikes, we have already got seamless interoperability, which is a significant benefit in fight.
When these pilots meet once more downrange in a fight surroundings, it received’t be the primary time they’ve flown collectively. They assume, talk, fly and combat the identical means. By coaching as one unified drive at the moment, we be sure that our coalition is a deadly, cohesive crew prepared to provide our nations a decisive benefit and win tomorrow’s combat.
What’s the mostly misunderstood side of coaching F-35 pilots that you just want each the general public and the broader Air Pressure higher understood?
There are two sides to this. On the pilot aspect, folks typically assume coaching is only a 90-minute sortie the place they fly quick and pull G’s. They don’t see the mountain of labor behind the scenes. Each mission requires hours of mission planning earlier than attending to the jet, adopted by hours of debriefs to dissect each transfer the formation made.
The second misunderstood side is the sheer scale of teamwork on the bottom. It takes the complete Wing to get these jets airborne. It’s a complete crew effort requiring a championship mentality from our maintainers, assist workers, and each Airman throughout the bottom to realize mission success. This unmatched dedication, mixed with the unwavering assist from our surrounding neighborhood, fosters a spirit of service you received’t discover elsewhere.
The Aviationist wish to ship out because of second Lt. Reese Sartin, Public Affairs Officer 56FW/PA, Luke AFB, AZ; Capt. Alyssa Letts, Public Affairs Officer 56FW/PA, Luke AFB, AZ; and SMSgt. Chad Usher, Superintendent 56FW/PA, Luke AFB, AZ.
As well as, a really particular because of Brig. Gen. David Berkland, 56th Fighter Wing Commander, Luke AFB, AZ.
