F-35 Flight Test Update 13

4 November 2013: Marine Corps Lt. Col. Patrick Moran flew F-35C CF-2 from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, for the first AIM-120 AMRAAM separation test from the F-35C. 

6 November 2013: Navy Capt. Justin Carlson flew F-35C CF-2 from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, for the first GBU-31 separation test from the F-35C.

12 November 2013: Marine Corps Maj. Richard Rusnok flew Flight 400 of F-35A AF-2 at the F-35 Integrated Test Force at the Air Force Test Center at Edwards AFB, California.

15 November 2013: The F-35 program executed its second live-fire launch of a guided air-to-air missile over the US Navy’s test range off the coast of California. The AIM-120 was launched from F-35A AF-6 operating from the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards AFB, California. The pilot, Air Force Lt. Col. Brent Reinhardt, launched the AIM-120 from the F-35 internal weapon bay against an aerial drone target.

18 November 2013:Lockheed test pilot Dan Canin flew F-35C CF-5 for the first intentional departure from controlled flight test for an F-35C. These tests are part of the high angle of attack testing being conducted by the F-35 Integrated Test Force at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.

18 November 2013: Navy Capt. Justin Carlson performed the final F-35C separation test required for F-35C Block 2B software. The test mission, which originated from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, involved dropping a GBU-31 from the internal bay of F-35C CF-2 in a thirty-degree dive at Mach 0.92.

19 November 2013: Test pilots from the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards AFB, California, conducted the first multiship flight with all three F-35 variants during a test mission to evaluate the F-35’s Multifunction Advanced Data Link, or MADL. Four F-35s exchanged information during the flight—two F-35As, one F-35B, and one F-35C. 

6 December 2013: US government test pilot Vince Caterina was at the controls of F-35B BF-18 for the first guided GBU-32 delivery from an F-35B. Caterina used the Electro-Optical Targeting System, or EOTS, to guide a GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition to a specified ground target after releasing the weapon from the internal weapon bay of the F-35 at Mach 0.9 and at 25,000 foot  altitude. The GBU-32 is a 1,000-pound Mk-83 general-purpose bomb mated with an INS/GPS guidance kit and guidance fins for precision strike. The test mission was conducted from Edwards AFB, California.

16 December 2013: Royal Air Force Sdn. Ldr. Andy Edgell took off in an F-35 for the first time to become the newest test pilot at the F-35 Integrated Test for at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. His first flight was Flight 50 for F-35C CF-5.

17 December 2013: Lockheed Martin test pilot Paul Hattendorf was at the controls of F-35A AF-7 for a 5.2-hour mission systems test flight from Edwards AFB, California. The flight, which also marked 500 hours for AF-7, was the longest test mission to date for the F-35 program. Coincidentally, Lockheed Martin test pilot David Nelson completed a 5.2-hour mission on the same day in F-35A AF-3.

8 January 2014: BAE Systems test pilot Peter Wilson flying F-35B BF-1 and Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Levin flying F-35B BF-5 completed the first conventional mode formation takeoff and landing in the F-35B.

9 January 2014: Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Canin was at the controls of F-35C CF-5 for the initial departure resistance test flights with the weapon bay door open for the F-35C. The flight occurred at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.