Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program has
accrued the highest number of test points in a single month during June, the
most test points in program history.
Additionally, for the 18th consecutive month the F-35 test program has remained
ahead of plan.
In June, the F-35 program
accomplished several flight test and production milestones:
- BF-5 became the first F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) jet to fly with Block 2A software.
- First F-35C carrier variant (CV) night flight was completed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
- F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) weapons pit drop testing was conducted for the first time at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
- Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., BF-2 completed the first test flight for the F-35B STOVL variant with an asymmetric weapons load.
- AF-1, an F-35A CTOL test jet, accomplished the first F-35 weapon pit drop from an external station, a GBU-12 from station 2.
- The program achieved the highest number of F-35 flights in a single day, 12.
- Delivery of four F-35 Lightning II aircraft to US Air Force and Marine Corps.
Since December 2006, F-35s
have flown 2,355 times and accrued more than 3,700 cumulative flight hours.
This total includes 91 flights from the original test aircraft, AA-1; 2,023 SDD
test flights; and 241 production-model flights.