(Corrects first and second paragraphs to show Air Force nowsaying six jets to deploy instead of four, and to show jetscoming from Edwards Air Force Base instead of Nellis)
By Andrea Shalal
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The U.S.Air Force will deploy six Lockheed Martin Corp F-35fighter jets to a different U.S. air base this month as itassesses whether the new warplane can be declared combat-readyby August as planned, a senior officer told Reuters on Thursday.
Major General Jay Silveria, who heads the U.S. Air ForceWarfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, said the F-35 jetswould be sent from Edwards Air Force Base in California toMountain Home Air Force Base in southwestern Idaho later thismonth.
The deployment would include pilots, mechanics, spare parts,equipment and the plane's computerized logistics system to testthe ability to deploy the plane for combat, he said.
The test would help the Air Force assess its ability to sendthe jets to other locations and ensure that they can be repairedand maintained, Silveria said.
"What we're trying to do is exercise the deployment conceptsand to learn from maintenance and learn from (operations),"Silveria said.
Like any warplane, maintenance of the F-35 requiresspecialized tools and materials, and it was critical that allthose tools travel with the jet when it deployed, he said.
Silveria said the test deployment was part of an assessmentof whether an initial squadron of F-35 jets was ready forcombat. He said the warfare center was due to deliver that"operational readiness assessment" to General Hawk Carlisle,head of Air Combat Command, in July.
Carlisle would use the assessment to help decide whether aninitial squadron of F-35A fighter jets was ready for combat.
Silveria, a pilot who also flies the F-35, said the 12 F-35sbased at Nellis Air Force Base were performing well in regularexercises with other aircraft, and had proven their ability toshare data and communicate with fourth-generation jets.
He said the jets were now also able to share data within aformation of four F-35 jets flying together - a capability heexperienced during a flight in the past week.
The Air Force hoped to declare that it had an "initialoperational capability" of F-35s between August and December.
The U.S. Marine Corps declared an initial squadron of 10 ofits F-35B model jets ready for combat last July. The F-35B cantake off from shorter runways and land like a helicopter,
Two Air Force F-35s are slated to have their firstinternational deployment when they fly to Britain in July toparticipate in two British air shows. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Paul Tait)