2015-03-22 This video includes several shots of the operation of the F-35C as well as the F-35B operating off of the Nimitz and the WASP.
The ability to operate from the sea provides a significant capability to enhance the overall effects from combined land and sea airpower.
The video has been provided by the Naval Air Systems Command.
Elliott Clemence is a Test Pilot for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’ F-35 Lightning II Program at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md. In this role he supports F-35B flight sciences testing, F-35C carrier suitability testing and helmet mounted display testing.
Over the course of his 19-year career as a pilot, Elliott has accrued over 3,000 flight hours in dozens of aircraft including the F-35, the FA-18, the F-16, the AV-8B, the C-12, the T-2C, the T-45, the T-38, and the T-34.
Prior to joining Lockheed Martin in 2011, Elliott served as an FA-18 E/F/G experimental test pilot with the Boeing Company in St. Louis, MO, from 2009-2011 where he supported testing for mission systems, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar upgrades, and large area display integration.
In the United States Navy, Mr. Clemence held various positions including: FA-18C Hornet Pilot with VFA-86 in Beaufort, SC, FA-18 E/F Super Hornet Test Pilot at NAS Patuxent River, Md., and FA-18C Squadron Department Head with VFA-136 in Virginia Beach, Va. Elliott continues to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserves as the Commanding Officer of the VFA-101 Squadron Augmentation Unit (SAU).
A decorated combat veteran, Elliott was deployed in Operation Southern Watch (OSW), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and twice in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). During OIF and OEF, he expended 29 munitions in 86 combat sorties.
Mr. Clemence holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master of Science from the University of Tennessee Space Institute and is a graduate of the Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Md. He and his wife Lisa live in Hollywood, MD, with their two children, James and Lorina
For our special report on Naval Aviation see the following:
https://www.sldinfo.com/the-evolving-future-for-naval-aviation/