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The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II program successfully completed F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) full-scale static testing – with zero structural failures – five months ahead of schedule and in less than half the time of legacy programs.

The first mission systems-equipped Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II test jet joined the fleet at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., today.

The most advanced aircraft in the history of the United States Navy made its inaugural flight yesterday, assuring a future of long-range, first-day-of-the-war stealth striking capability from the Navy's big-deck carriers.

A foundation for how the first generation of F-35 pilots and maintainers trains for the next half century continues to evolve here as the 33rd Fighter Wing adds state of the art technology to the classroom arsenal.

Two F-35A Lightning II stealth Joint Strike Fighters left their final-assembly site in Fort Worth, Texas and flew nonstop to Edwards Air Force Base, May 17.

Luke Air Force Base will soon begin looking for a new wing weapons officer.

After a surge of flight test activity the F-35 program completed its 200th test flight last week. On May 5, Graham Tomlison piloted BF-1 for 44 minutes evaluating the jet's flying qualities and airframe loads.

The squadron serving as the sole Department of Defence provider of electronic warfare support for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter activated April 23 in a ceremony at Eglin AFB.

Representatives from the Italian air force and navy visited the 33rd Fighter Wing recently in an effort to check the progress of the first F-35 integrated training center and learn more about this new coalition venture.

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.

AF-1, the first optimized Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II conventional takeoff and landing test plane, rolls out of the F-35 Final Finishes Facility sporting a new hand-painted fin flash on its vertical stabilizers.

On March 27, CG-1, an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter ground test airframe, was dropped 95 inches at 20 feet per second, with an 8.8-degree pitch, 2-degree roll, and 133-knot wheel speed, simulating a carrier-deck landing.

The first mission systems-equipped Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter flew for the first time today, ushering in what will be the most powerful and comprehensive sensor package ever to fly in a fighter.

The Marine Corps moved closer March 18 to adding the Joint Strike Fighter F-35B STOVL (Short Take-Off Vertical Landing) variant to its arsenal. The test plane, BF-1, rode more than 41,000 pounds of thrust to a vertical landing for the first time, confirming its required ability to land in confined areas both ashore and afloat.

A supersonic Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter rode more than 41,000 pounds of thrust to a vertical landing today for the first time, confirming its required ability to land in confined areas both ashore and afloat.