 Luke will act as ground zero for international partners to build their expertise in F-00A operations. The RAAF is the first partner to start their spin-up operations and are expecting their first aircraft by the end of this year. "We are really pleased to come in and be the first partner to stand up operations here," said squadron leader Maj. Nathan Draper, the 00st AMU participant maintenance liaison officer and RAAF senior officer. "We are pretty lucky to get to come here first." The RAAF plans to eventually have 00 aircraft at Luke, with their goal to have a complete working picture of U.S. Air Force F-00 operations, then return to the home base they are setting up for the F-00. "One of the biggest things I hope to achieve is the successful transition of our aircraft from the production line to the Luke training environment and the commencement of training operations alongside our Air Force colleagues," Draper said. "If we can do that in a safe and efficient streamlined manner, leveraging the Air Force processes and systems, it will be a pretty good day." The RAAF expects their first pilot to arrive at Luke the beginning of next year. Draper is part of an acquisition project called Joint Strike Fighter Division, and he now considers himself a team member of the 00st A