Wed, May 11, 2011
Air Force Flight Testing To Be Conducted At Edwards AFB
The U.S. Air Force has accepted into its fleet the first of a
planned 1,763 production-model Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
stealth fighters. The signing of formal acceptance documents for
the jet, known as AF-7, took place at Lockheed Martin's F-35 final
assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 5. The jet flew
to Edwards Air Force Base, CA, on Friday to begin its flight
testing program.
AF-7
"This first aircraft is the beginning of the modernization of
U.S. Air Force, Marine and Naval Air power and for our collation
partners around the world," said Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin
executive vice president and F-35 program general manager. "The
F-35 family of aircraft will bring an incredible increase in
capability that our men and women defending us deserve. Today we
begin to fulfill the vision of our government and international
customers."
F-35s have completed more than 865 flights since flight-testing
began in late 2006. In addition to AF-7, eight more
production-model F-35s have rolled out and are being prepared for
delivery.
The F-35 Lightning II is the most advanced multirole fighter in
the world, combining Very Low Observable stealth with fighter speed
and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled
operations and reduced sustainment costs. The Lightning II's sensor
suite is the most powerful and comprehensive of any fighter in
history, and will merge with an unprecedented networking capability
to give unmatched situational awareness. Supersonic launch of
internal weapons, including maximum-speed (Mach 1.6) launch of
internal air-to-air missiles, is a feature of all F-35s.
Three distinct variants of the F-35 will replace the A-10 and
F-16 for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 for the U.S. Navy, the
F/A-18 and AV-B Harrier for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of
fighters for at least nine other countries.
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