U.S. Air Force's F-35A Lightning II scheduled for first operational deployment to Indo-Asia-Pacific Published Nov. 2, 2017 By Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. David Moore, an F-35A Lightning II pilot from the 34th Fighter Squadron, climbs out of the cockpit after a flight from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Oct. 30, 2017. A dozen F-35As and approximately 300 Airmen are on their way to Kadena Air Base, Japan, deployed under U.S. Pacific Command's (PACOM) Theater Security Package program, which has been in operation since 2004. This marks PACOM’s first operational tasking for the F-35A and builds upon the successful debut of the fifth-generation stealth fighter in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition earlier this month. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders)