JANUARY 29, 2025 — The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command Test Center (AATC) marked a significant milestone this week, leading an integrated test team in testing rapid aircraft regeneration processes that will dramatically reduce the time the F-35 Lightning II spends on the ground during combat operations.
The testing centers on simultaneous operations, where maintenance crews perform rapid refueling while weapons teams load internal munitions, all while the F-35’s engines remain running. This “hot” integrated combat turnaround (ICT) will slash the current three-hour regeneration time to under 25 minutes, significantly reducing aircraft vulnerability on the ground. This improvement directly supports the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept, providing commanders with enhanced combat capabilities in contested environments.
“An aircraft is its most vulnerable when it’s on the deck,” explained Master Sgt. Sharlyn Smith, F-35 operational test and evaluation superintendent for the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron. “If it’s flying, it is a threat to everything around it. If it’s on the ground, it’s less of a threat and it’s more of a target.”
While legacy aircraft have performed similar procedures, adapting these techniques to the F-35 required significant procedural development and risk assessment.
“We can’t keep figuring things out in combat,” said Lt. Col. Kevin Hand, Air Dominance Director in charge of F-15 and F-35 test for AATC. “This is really one of the first tests where we’re shifting our mindset to buy a little more risk in training, so our people aren’t seeing these procedures for the first time when it actually matters.”
The ICT brings together expertise from active duty, guard and reserve components, representing AATC’s first major F-35 test leadership role while showcasing the center’s expanding capabilities in fifth-generation fighter testing. Also demonstrated is the evolving relationship between active duty and reserve components, drawing on expertise from the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron, the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, and the 57th Wing. The team also incorporated lessons learned from Marine Corps units and the Vermont Air National Guard’s experience with similar operations.
“The big takeaway is how quickly can we get our aircraft regenerated, so we can beat threat timelines while we are rearming, reloading and refueling an aircraft,” Hand added. “We are developing capabilities to make us more lethal. We are constantly doing new things, trying new tactics, techniques and procedures to meet the pacing threat.”
Following successful testing, these procedures will become standard requirements for deploying units starting in March. Units will need to demonstrate proficiency in these rapid regeneration procedures during their weapons system evaluation before overseas deployment certification.
The success of the ICTs highlights AATC’s growing role in developing combat capabilities for the total force, demonstrating how guard and reserve test organizations can lead innovation in fifth-generation fighter operations.
Story by Senior Master Sgt. Charles Givens
162nd Wing