F-35B Lightning II: Flight, Hover and Vertical Landing in 4K

STOL F-35B Lightning II taking part in Exercise Steel Knight 2016

15 F-22 Raptors from Tyndall AFB

F-35A 1st Aerial Gun Test

F-35C Lightning II aircraft are tested aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

F-35C Completes Sea Trials Aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

F-35C Lightning II at night aboard Ike for DT-II testing

Launching the F-35C Lightning II from aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)

F-35C Conducts First External Weapons Release with Not One, but Four 500-pound Bombs

For the first time an F-35 released an external weapon from its wings, not once, but four times during an external weapons separation test on 23 September 2015.

The aircraft, CF-2, released four 500-pound GBU-12 laser guided inert bombs from its wings’ pylons during consecutive test runs over the Atlantic Test Range. The F-35 Patuxent River Integrated Test Force conducted the flight and noted all four weapon separations were successful and confirmed the accuracy of the predicted release trajectory. The ability to do quadruple separation tests during a single flight demonstrates the program’s ability to efficiently test, and advances the F-35’s future capability to release multiple weapons on a single pass.During the sortie, flight test engineers monitored and reviewed telemetry data from each GBU-12 separation event to confirm it was safe to proceed to the next release point. The team also saved costs by clearing the range once rather than four times to accomplish each separation.

Traditional flight test programs often rely upon a series of individual separation flights to accommodate engineering analysis to determine if it is safe to proceed to the next test point. The F-35 weapons certification process combined extensive wind tunnel testing and computer analysis to predict the trajectory of the weapons released from the aircraft. Additionally, the F-35 features an on-board instrumentation capability that delivers real-time data analysis to engineers in the control room. Each weapon separation matched simulation models with a high degree of fidelity, which expedites the clearances of future weapons and employment envelopes.

This year, the F-35 Patuxent River Integrated Test Force, has flown 500 flights and achieved 3,400 test points. The team’s five F-35B and four F-35C aircraft have supported a wide array of mission systems and flight tests.

The First Italian Built F 35 Makes First Flight

Test pilot Bill "Gigs" Gigliotti piloted the first flight of the F-35 outside the U.S. on September 7, 2015, near the Cameri, Italy, Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility. Aircraft AL-1 was also produced at the FACO facility, making it the first-ever internationally produced F-35A.

A look at the U.S. military's $400B fighter jet

F-35A firing 25mm canon at full capacity

Canada F-35 Commitment in Crisis

F-35 story in short along with cost escalation.

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Program Meets Aircraft Production Goal for 2014

Lockheed Martin had been set a program production goal of 36 aircraft for the year 2014. Lockheed Martin and industry partners have so far delivered 109 operational aircraft to the U.S. and partner nations since the program's inception.


The 36 F-35 deliveries for 2014 were:

23 F-35A - U.S. Air Force
2   F-35A - Royal Australian Air Force (first two)
4   F-35B  - U.S. Marine Corps
7   F-35C - U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (first carrier variant)

The 36 F-35 Lightning II aircraft are assigned to the following installations:

19 - Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, AZ
14 - Eglin Air Force Base, Valparaiso, FL
2 - Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, S.C.
1 - Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, AZ


Photo - Lockheed Martin
First F-35C carrier variant delivered to the Marine Corps

F-35B STOVL Stealth Fighter Wet Runway & Crosswind Landing Testing

First F-35 to Achieve 1,000 Flight Hours

Test marks first dual AMRAAM shots from any F-35 variant

A U.S. Air Force pilot successfully fired two Raytheon Company AIM 120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles from an F-35B fighter aircraft.The missiles tracked and engaged two aerial targets during a Weapon Delivery Accuracy mission in Southern California. The test marked the first dual AMRAAM shot from any F-35 variant, and the first live AMRAAM shot from the F-35B.

All 3 - F-35A, F-35B & F-35C of Lockheed Martin

F-35B To Fly At Christening Of Brits’ Newest Aircraft Carrier, If Weather OK

Photos : Min of Defence

Do not expect any official confirmation, but the British will allow Lockheed Martin’s F-35B to make its first flight outside of the United States on July 4 when the country’s newest aircraft carrier is christened by Her Majesty the Queen.

Apparently eager not to disappoint Queen Elizabeth, should the plane not be able to fly in the Scottish weather, and desirous of keeping the media’s focus on the majestic carrier upon which she will be cracking a bottle of Champagne open, the powers that be have decided not to confirm or deny that the aircraft will be on hand. (Could the Queen Elizabeth be christened with a good single malt Scotch, given the locale? Also, the Royal Navy no longer calls them christenings; it’s officially a naming ceremony.`

All three F-35 variants fly together for the first time

Image credit: Lockheed Martin