WASHINGTON: The first F-35A built in Italy for the Italian Air Force took off yesterday for what the Lockheed Martin test pilot said was highly successful first flight.

“It was identical to every other airplane we produce at Fort Worth,” pilot Bill Gigliotti told reporters today in what he clearly intended as a compliment to the Italians, whose facility at Cameri Air Base built and tested the plane.

The test flight ticked another first for the program: first F-35 flight outside the United States. (Hopefully, F-35Bs will get their chance to fly in July at the next Farnborough Air Show.)

The plane, one of those from LRIP 6, uses the 3I-R5 software. Gigliotti told us one interesting tidbit. The plane underwent the stealth testing needed to certify it met requirements at Cameri. That may be a first; it clearly shows how integrated allies are in the F-35 program. Stealth parameters are among the most closely guarded secrets in the American military. Testing to ensure they are met requires knowing what those standards are,