Free Republic

The first F-35 Lightning II for The Netherlands rolled out of the F-35 production facility on April 1. This is the latest step in the production process leading to its eventual assignment to Eglin AFB, Fla., later this summer. The Netherlands will use the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) jet, known as AN-1, for training and operational tests for pilots and maintainers. AN-1 will undergo functional fuel system checks before being transported to the flight line for ground and flight tests in the coming weeks. The Royal Netherlands Air Force continues to be at the forefront of flight testing and...

Good progress is being made in flight testing by the CTOL and CV versions. F-35B STOVL mode flights have resumed, but the variant is still behind schedule. However, it is neither the CTOL nor the CV model that holds the current speed and g-load records for the F-35. That honor befalls the F-35B STOVL. Recently the jet accomplished Mach 1.32 and 7 g's, the maximum g's the STOVL is designed for.

The seventh Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II flight test aircraft took to the skies for the first time today, with the overall objective of validating the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant’s weapons suite.The jet, known as AF-2 and piloted by Lockheed Martin F-35 Test Pilot Jeff Knowles, took off at 5:27 p.m. CDT from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base and flew for 1 hour and 23 minutes. “The first flight of AF-2 is a significant achievement for the F-35 program, the U.S. Air Force and our international partners who will operate the F-35A,” said James...

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 28 (UPI) -- All three versions of the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter have now cleared the final milestone needed before entering the production phase. The carrier version of the cutting-edge F-35 recently passed its Air System Critical Design Review, putting it on track for Low Rate Initial Production. The conventional and short-takeoff, vertical landing variants of the plane passed the CDR earlier and have been approved for LRIP. "The die is now fully cast for the unique, three-variant Joint Strike Fighter program envisioned when the planning began in the late 1990s," said Air Force Brig. Gen....