Team, it’s a great day in Naval Aviation history and for the program. Four F-35Cs arrived at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., joining VFA-125 ‘Rough Raiders’ and reestablishing it as a training squadron.  Nearly 400 sailors, families and local civic leaders witnessed the arrival and ceremony marking the occasion.  NAS Lemoore is the first west coast naval installation to have F-35Cs permanently assigned and is the Navy’s only west coast Master Jet Base.  By the end of 2017, the base will have 10 F-35Cs assigned, building to more than 100 jets in the early 2020s. Today’s ceremony was led by Vice Admiral Mike Shoemaker, Commander, Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and he was joined on the stage by Rear Admiral Roy Kelly, Director, JSF Fleet Integration Office; Captain Markus Gudmundsson, Commander Strike Fighter Wing; and Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin F-35 Program Executive Vice President and General Manager.

Press release Lockheed Martin