F-35 Flight Test Update 11

13 May 2013: Marine Corps Maj. C. R. Clift flew BF-4 in a test that marked the 400th vertical landing of an F-35B during SDD. The flight occurred from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.

16 May 2013: F-35As AF-3, AF-6, and AF-7 demonstrated the first three-ship connectivity for the Multi-Functional Advanced Datalink, or MADL, during ground operations at Edwards AFB, California.

20 May 2013: Marine Corps Lt. Col. Patrick Moran was at the controls for Flight 100 of F-35C CF-3.

28 May 2013: Sqn. Ldr. James Schofield, flying F-35B BF-1 on Flight 296, performed the first vertical landing for an RAF pilot at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.

31 May 2013: Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Canin was at the controls for Flight 200 of F-35C CF-2.

4 June 2013: BAE test pilot Peter Wilson was at the controls for Flight 300 of F-35B BF-1.

5 June 2013: Air Force Lt. Col. George Schwartz flew F-35A AF-1 for the first powered AIM-120 air-to-air missile launch from an F-35. The missile was released from the internal weapon bay of the F-35. The flight originated from the Air Force Test Center at Edwards AFB, California. The launch occurred over the Point Mugu Sea Test Range off the California coast.

6 June 2013: F-35C CF-3 was used for a heavyweight ground tow test at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division test facility at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The aircraft was fitted with four 2,000-pound GBU-31 guided bombs on its external pylons. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Tony Wilson was in the cockpit during the test.

14 June 2013: AF-6, AF-7, BF-17, and BF-18 were used to complete the first F-35 airborne four-ship MADL connection at Edwards AFB, California. The airborne four-ship also achieved MADL connectivity with AF-3 during its ground test, marking the first five-ship MADL connection.

20 June 2013: Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti flew the first flight of F-35C CF-8 (US Navy Bureau Number 168735). Takeoff and landing occurred at NAS Fort Worth JRB, Texas. CF-8 is scheduled to join the test fleet at Edwards AFB, California, later in 2013.

9 July 2013: Air Force Maj. Mark Massaro completed the last GBU-31 separation test required as part of the process for releasing 2B software for the F-35A fleet. The flight occurred with AF-1 at Edwards AFB, California.

11 July 2013: Marine Corps Lt. Col. Patrick Moran flew the first night aerial refueling mission in an F-35B. The mission, from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, was Flight 265 for BF-2. The tanker was a US Air Force KC-10.