WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force will onTuesday declare an initial squadron of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35A fighter jets ready for combat, according tosources familiar with the decision.
U.S. General Hawk Carlisle, who heads Air Combat Command,will announce that the Air Force has an "initial operationalcapability" of the F-35 jets at a news conference at 1 p.m. EST,said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly.
The decision marks another big milestone for the $379billion program, the Pentagon's largest weapons project. The AirForce follows the U.S. Marine Corps, which declared a firstsquadron of F-35s ready for combat in July 2015. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Madeline Chambers)