On 14 January 2008, the 63d started a course that caught a few aviation headlines. They began training pilots selected to fly the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, pilots who have never flown a fighter before. Up to this point F-22 pilots were hand-picked from the existing fighter community. Once the training in the F-16 was completed, the student pilots were reassigned to the 43d Fighter Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida where they spent the next two years training with the F-22. In February 2008, it was announced that the 63d was to be inactivated as a result of BRAC 2005 that Luke give up twenty-five block 25 F-16s. Although the 63d flew the Block 42 it transferred its F-16s to the 61st Fighter Squadron, which did operate the block 25. The 61st, due to its seniority and historical heritage, would remain active. On 4 April 2009, the 63d graduated its last class of F-16 pilots at which time it continued the process to inactivate. Officially the squadron stood down on 22 May 2009 after 68 years of service. The squadron was reactivated on 1 August 2016 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Vedder to train Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II pilots as part of a joint effort between Turkey and the United States.