Maj. Justin “Spike” Lennon of the 48th Fighter Wing and Maj. Colby “Burn” Kluesner of the 388th Fighter Wing conducted the flight as part of an international interfly training mission. “In the short term, Interfly events like this allow us to exchange information and best practices,” Lennon stated. “In the long term, as a coalition, normalizing Interfly gives commanders additional options for agility and versatility in a future conflict.”
The initiative is part of a broader RAAF effort to promote interfly training through its Lightning-X programme, launched in 2023 to strengthen ties between F-35 user nations. “It is a big win to be able to seamlessly integrate here at Talisman Sabre 25 with 77 Squadron,” said Squadron Leader Nicholas Reynolds, executive officer of No. 77 Squadron.
In addition to the two USAF pilots, RAF Squadron Leader Daniel “Goffy” Goff and US Marine Corps Lt. Col. Johnny “Yardsale” Rose also took part in the international interfly, embedding with RAAF’s No. 77 and No. 75 Squadrons. All pilots completed simulator training and academic preparation before being approved to operate the RAAF F-35s in the exercise.
Lennon noted that shared design features and aligned training made the transition seamless for allied pilots. “Thanks to the commonality of F-35 variants, aligned training and operational practices between F-35 users, the flying portion is the easiest part,” he said.
According to Lennon, the experience felt no different from flying a USAF F-35, apart from the accent on the radio. “The crew are treated no differently than any other RAAF F-35 pilot during Talisman Sabre 25,” he added.
The interfly effort supports a long-term goal of building deeper operational cohesion among F-35 operators across allied nations. “Until now the USAF has never performed international interfly on an ad-hoc basis,” Lennon explained. “This effort is part of a larger plan to normalize F-35 Interfly training with our allies.”
Talisman Sabre 25 is the eleventh iteration of the bilateral Australia-US exercise and represents a major effort to enhance shared readiness and defence capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. The exercise continues to play a central role in building cooperation and deterrence among key partners.
