The
Lockheed Martin F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft
completed its 500th vertical landing August 3. BF-1, the aircraft which
completed this achievement, also accomplished the variant’s first
vertical landing in March 2010 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River,
Md. |
Next
week, Sea Trials, known as Developmental Test 2 (DT-2) are scheduled
to begin for the F-35B variant onboard the USS WASP. DT-2 is the second
of three planned tests aimed at defining and expanding the F-35B’s
shipboard operating envelope for the U.S. Marine Corps. The first shipboard
testing phase was successfully completed in October 2011. The successful
completion of the upcoming Sea Trials is key to declaring F-35 Initial
Operating Capability (IOC) for the U.S. Marine Corps in 2015. |
