There are thousands of F-35s in the story now. There is only one first — and it landed at Eglin in July 2011.
The Aircraft
The F-35A Lightning II brought stealth, sensor fusion, and a shared airframe across three services into a single program — the most ambitious fighter effort in history. AF-01 was the first F-35A delivered to the United States Air Force. When it touched down at Eglin Air Force Base in July 2011, it turned years of blueprints, debate, and engineering into a flying reality.
The Squadron
AF-01 opened the fifth-generation era for the USAF and laid the groundwork for training the first generation of Lightning II pilots. Today the F-35 flies with air forces around the world — but every one of them traces a line back to this airframe. It is, literally, where the operational story begins.
The People
A first-of-type delivery represents tens of thousands of people: engineers, test pilots, program staff, and the maintainers and instructors who had to figure out how to operate an aircraft unlike anything before it. AF-01 marks the moment all of that work became real and flyable. It's a milestone airframe, and milestones are made by people.
Why Collectors Want It
Collectors prize firsts — the start of the story, not the middle. AF-01 is the jet to point to when you want the beginning of the fifth-generation era in your hangar. Our 1:72 replica wears the AF-01 markings of the jet that opened the chapter, and ships with its Briefing Card.
Bring this legend home → F-35A Lightning II AF-01
