External Carriage

Photo by Paul Weatherman

The first F-35 external weapons test mission was flown on 16 February 2012 at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California, further expanding the program’s flight test envelope. AF-1, one of the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing test aircraft aircraft at Edwards, carried two AIM-9X air-to-air missiles on the aircraft’s outboard wing stations. In addition, the F-35 carried two GBU-31 2,000-pound satellite-guided bombs and two AIM-120C medium range air-to-air missiles in the internal weapon bays. No weapons were delivered during the mission. The jet also had four external pylons that can carry 2,000-pound air-to-ground weapons mounted during the test. The F-35A is designed to carry up to 18,000 pounds on ten internal and external weapon stations.