F-35B Lightning II Completes First Guided Weapon Delivery Against Ground Target.

The GBU-12 is a 500-pound, Mk-82 general purpose bomb mated with a nose-mounted laser seeker and flight guidance fins for precision strike. The GBU-12 used in this test did not contain explosives.

The F-35B released its weapon from 25,000 feet and the bomb fell for 35 seconds before hitting a stationary target (a tank) on the Edwards Air Force Base Precision Impact Range Area.

The F-35 used its Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) to enable the pilot to identify, track, designate and accurately deliver the GBU-12 on target. EOTS is the world's first sensor to combine forward-looking infrared, infrared search and track, and laser designator to maximize capability for F-35 pilots.

"This guided weapons delivery test of a GBU-12 marks the first time the F-35 truly became a weapon system," said Rusnok. "It represents another step forward in the development of this vital program."

Last week two other advancements were made in F-35 weapons testing. On October 21, at Patuxent River, Md, the Navy variant released its first weapons separation test from an F-35C and on October 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The Air Force variant conducted the first ground release pit testing of a GBU-39 (250-pound) small diameter bomb.