Exercise Dawn Strike is the final activity of the biennial Air Warfare Instructor Course and the candidates' final mission prior to graduation.

This year saw 19 F-35 Lightnings take to the sky in under 10 minutes as part of Dawn Strike exercise. The 19 comprised 15 F-35As from the Royal Australian Air Force and 4 F-35Cs from the US Navy. in addition to the F35's Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, 127 Hawks, C17 , C-130J and 2 E-7A Wedgetail took part in the Exercise. The US Navy Aircraft are from the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine (AIRTEVRON NINE, VX-9, nicknamed The Vampires) is a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California.