DefenceTalkFleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) marked a milestone in its support of the F-35B Lightning II aircraft when it successfully completed verification of the laser shock peening process and returned the first aircraft to undergo the procedure to the fleet. Laser shock peening strengthens the aircraft’s frame without adding any additional material or weight, which […]https://www.defencetalk.com/depot-returns-1st-f-35-to-receive-modification-returned-to-fleet-77601/

DefenceTalkA pair of fighter pilots have become the first in their services to fly the F-35 Lightning straight from training. Flight Lieutenant Liam and Lieutenant Chris became the first Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots respectively to proceed straight from flying training in a Hawk to fly the multi-role combat aircraft. Speaking after his […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uk-fighter-pilots-fly-f-35-lightning-straight-from-training-for-first-time-71182/

DefenceTalkThe F-35 Patuxent River Integrated Test Force team brings the U.S. Marine Corps’ F-35B one step closer to initial operational test and evaluation as they wrap up testing of the F-35B STOVL envelope with sloped surface vertical landing tests January and February at Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field (MCALF) Bogue, N.C. “The Marine Corps is […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-pax-river-itf-expands-expeditionary-envelope-for-usmc-71168/

DefenceTalkMISAWA AIR BASE, Japan: A Defense Contract Management Agency government flight representative landed the first Japanese-made F-35B on Misawa AB’s runway, Nov. 2. Maj. Elijah Supper piloted the brand-new aircraft from the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Komaki South F-35 Final Assembly and Check Out facility. “This F-35 is one of the most clean and well-built aircraft […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-japanese-built-f-35b-lands-at-misawa-ab-70817/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning II aircraft reached initial operational capability July 31, 2015 with a squadron of 10 F-35Bs ready for world-wide deployment. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121), based in Yuma, Arizona, is the first squadron in military history to become operational with an F-35 variant, following a five-day Operational Readiness Inspection, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-marines-corps-declares-the-f-35b-operational-64945/

DefenceTalkThe F-35 Lightning II program made aviation history June 12 as Royal Air Force (RAF) Test Pilot Squadron Leader Andy Edgell released two inert 500-pound dual mode Paveway IV precision-guided bombs from aircraft BF-03 over the Atlantic Test Ranges. The inaugural weapons separation test of the Paveway IV conducted by the F-35 Lightning II Patuxent […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35b-aces-first-release-of-a-uk-paveway-iv-bomb-64578/

DefenceTalkThe Marine Corps F-35B operational test (OT-1) successfully concluded aboard a U.S. Navy amphibious ship, USS Wasp (LHD-1), on May 29, 2015. Setting off from Norfolk, Virginia on May 18, USS Wasp cut an arc between 50 and 100 miles off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina, as Marine Corps pilots safely conducted 100 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/marine-corps-proves-f-35bs-capability-at-sea-64424/

DefenceTalkMarines and sailors have worked together since May 18 to conduct Operational Testing 1, the assessment of the integration of the F-35B Lightning II, at sea, aboard USS Wasp (LHD-1). Throughout OT-1, the aircraft and personnel involved have been challenged with a wide variety of flight and deck operations, allowing the gathering of data which […]https://www.defencetalk.com/marines-make-progress-with-f-35b-during-ot-1-64354/

DefenceTalkSix U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II jet aircraft arrived Monday evening aboard the USS WASP off the coast of the United States’ Eastern Seaboard to mark the beginning of the first shipboard phase of the F-35B Operational Test (OT-1). The at-sea period will continue aboard USS WASP for the next two weeks, with fleet […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-marine-corps-begins-f-35b-operational-trials-64249/

DefenceTalkAn F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) fighter aircraft piloted by Marine Corps Maj. Richard Rusnok, successfully employed a Guided Bomb Unit-12 (GBU-12) Paveway II laser-guided weapon from the F-35’s internal weapons bay against a fixed ground tank test target yesterday. The GBU-12 is a 500-pound, Mk-82 general purpose bomb mated with a nose-mounted […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35b-lightning-ii-completes-first-guided-weapon-delivery-against-ground-target-49535/