2012-07-23 ZM135, a British F-35B and the first international Lightning II, takes off from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at 9:03 a.m. CDT en route for Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. United Kingdom Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Jim Schofield piloted the short takeoff and vertical landing…
2012-07-16 by Robbin Laird This week the UK government will officially accept its first F-35B. There are a total of 4 under contract, which includes the first operational aircraft to be received in LRIP 7. This is a re-affirmation of the importance of the F-35 and the B version for the…
At a roundtable on the F-35 and allies held at the Heritage Foundation on June 7, 2012, Colonel Kevin J. Killea
provided a Marine Corps perspective on the program. Currently, he is the head of Aviation Weapons Requirements branch for headquarters United States Marine Corps. He’s a graduate of both the…
5/27/12: by Ed Timperlake Every fighter pilot has had or will have a moment in the air when the biggest indicator in the cockpit is showing how much fuel is left: the fuel indicator immediately can dominate the pilots attention and really focus thinking on where to immediately land. Fuel…
5/22/2012 - EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (Press Release) An F-35B Lightning II made its first flight at Eglin Air Force Base today, two months after 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing officially introduced the Marine Corps' fifth generation fighter to the world at the 33rd Fighter Wing. [caption id="attachment_39225" align="alignleft" width="240"…
The F-35 represents a new approach to the development, production, system and sustainment of a fleet of combat aircraft. Additionally, the F-35 takes an innovative approach to collaborative upgrades over the airframe and global fleet’s life cycle. Too often an understanding of the basic aircraft rolling out of production right…
BK-1, the United Kingdom’s first F-35 Lightning II production aircraft, flew its inaugural flight mid-April 2012. Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti took the short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) jet through a series of functional flight checks during a sortie that lasted 45 minutes. The jet will complete a series of…
Second Line of Defense had a chance to discuss with Lt. Col. “Uber” Williams who served as Col. Shorter’s deputy from MAG-14 headquarters during Bold Alligator 2012. According to Williams, “While he’s back in Cherry Point running the rest of his MAG, I will be out aboard the Kearsarge basically…
