The 2017 Air Force Academy Falcons football team will wear five new helmets this season in tribute to the F35. Air Force Athletics (and its sponsor Nike) are calling it the Air Power Legacy Series.
Navy football may get all the national press coverage, but Air Force has dominated competition for the Commander-in-Chief trophy since it began back in 1972 and they've won two of the last three, including their 2016 win. They kicked off the season with a 62-0 beatdown of the Virginia Military Institute on September 2nd and face a huge challenge with a road game against the #2 ranked Michigan Wolverines this Saturday.
The helmets are designed to look like an actual F35 pilot's helmet.
Here are the five designs. The basic helmet design stays the same and the team will swap out the squadron logo to get a new look.
#1 - 58th Fighter Squadron
The 58th Fighter Squadron is part of the 33d Fighter Wing, and is based at Elgin Air Force Base, Florida.
#2 - 63d Fighter Squadron
The 63d Fighter Squadron is part of the 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.
#3 - 62d Fighter Squadron
The 62d Fighter Squadron is also part of the 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.
#4 - 34th Fighter Squadron
The 34th Fighter Squadron is part of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
#5 - The 61st Fighter Squadron
The 61st Fighter Squadron is the third squadron on the list that's part of the 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.
Check out all five helmets lined up on an F-35 wing.
![](http://images02.military.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_large/public/2024-04/1time%20red%20o%27neill%20platoon%201200.jpg?itok=w-2J41Bh "John C. McGinley as Sgt. O'Neill in Oliver Stone's "Platoon." (Orion Pictures)")