» 400 jobs coming to Wright-Patt: What to know about F-35 program
“I am grateful for the women who have broken barriers previously, they built the path,” Winiecki said, in a statement. “I look forward to the day when sorties like this are a regular occurrence.”
Winiecki commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Upon completion of pilot training, she flew the A-10C operationally including deployments to Southwest Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Pacific theater.
She then graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards and was previously assigned as an F-16 Fighting Falcon test pilot with the 416th Flight Test Squadron, according to an Air Force statement.
“Major Winiecki was selected to become an F-35 test pilot based on her exceptional flying ability and the important voice she brings to the F-35 development as a prior A-10 (Thunderbolt II) pilot,” said Lt. Col. Tucker Hamilton, in a statement.
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