The U.S. Air Force launched more than 50 jets in a row after taxiing in formation on the runway, known as an "elephant walk," in an exercise at Hill Air Force Base in Utah on Monday.
"Today we launched about 50 F-35s in rapid succession. Part of a long-planned combat power exercise with [the 388th Fighter Wing], we pushed the boundaries and tested our Airmen's ability to deploy [the F-35 Lightning II] en masse. We're ready to fly, fight, and win," the 419th Fighter Wing's official Twitter account posted Monday, along with a video of the jets.
The exercise took the jets west to the Utah Test and Training Range, where they performed a variety of missions.
"Today's exercise marks the accomplishment of over four years of work — a little over four years ago, we received our first F-35," 388th Wing Vice Commander Col. Michael Edner told Deseret News. "We now have our full complement of aircraft and locally, we turn this into a goal of full war-fighting capability."
"The message is not just to potential adversaries, but it's also to our nation's leadership that they can count on the 388th Fighter Wing to support the combat power that they plan and require us to provide," he added.
"What's going on in the Middle East is completely coincidental with where we are as a fighter wing. We received our 78th aircraft in December of 2019, and so we have been planning this as kind of a culmination event of receiving our last aircraft," Ebner said. "Now we have our pilots, our aircraft and our support equipment all intact and in place and ready to go."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.