Hill AFB Pilot First Woman To Fly F-35 Into Combat
Jun 10, 2020, 4:49 PM | Updated: 5:00 pm
U.S. Air Force Capt. Emily Thompson, 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron pilot, dons her helmet prior to a mission on the Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, flightline June 5, 2020. Thompson is the first female to fly an F-35A Lightning II into combat. She is currently deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Kat Justen)
(U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Kat Justen)
AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates – U.S. Air Force Pilot Capt. Emily “Banzai” Thompson became the first female pilot to fly the F-35A Lightning II into combat.
Her jet was prepared for the flight by an all-female crew.
A news release from the U.S. Air Force said Thompson recently completed the combat mission after taking off from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
“This is my first deployment, so for me, it was a pretty big deal … the first combat sortie for me. Of course, being the first female, it’s a pretty big honor,” she said. “There’s a lot of females who have come before me and there’s a lot of females already flying combat sorties in other platforms. So just to be the person who gets that honor, that first — it just meant a lot.”
On the day of her first combat sortie, an all-female maintenance crew launched her off for the historic flight. Airman First Class Ashlin Randolph, a weapons load crew member, was one of a four-person team on duty for the historic launch.
Randolph, also on her first deployment, was new to marshaling jets. It was only her third time marshaling on the day of the launch.
“I always get really nervous, so I had medics, my lieutenants, and intelligence [personnel] and they were all females,” she said. “They were all there to support me.”
U.S. Air Force Capt. Emily Thompson, 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron pilot, launches an F-35A Lighting II while Airman 1st Class Ashlin Randolf, 380th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Lighting Technician Program maintainer, gives the signal to proceed on the Al Dhafra Air Base on June 5, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Kat Justen)
Thompson said she did not have dreams of being a fighter pilot while growing up.
“Standard childhood dreams were veterinarian and police officer,” she said. “From there, realistic dreams set in and I wanted to be an engineer. I went to college to be an aerospace engineer, which is what my degree is in. Then I sort of found out about the whole pilot thing. I could fly, instead of build, the airplanes and it just kind of took off from there.”
Following her college graduation, Thompson started about 18 months of training to pilot the F-16. Following a tour flying the F-16, she began training for the F-35, according to the news release.
Thompson is part of the 388th Fighter Wing stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
Jets and airmen from the 388th have deployed to the United Arab Emirates three times in the past year.
