The F-35B Lightning II rolled off the production line 18 December in Fort Worth, Texas, to the fanfare of customers from the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy. The rollout marked the formal handing over of the first short-takeoff vertical landing, or STOVL, variant of the F-35 from production to flight testing.

The C12 engine test stand rises above the flat Florida terrain like a massive metal insect. Five steel pipes, up to eight feet in diameter, connect at a central arm that supports the vertical lift system that will power the F-35B Lightning II. The structure rises high above the cooling ponds at the Pratt & Whitney Florida test site in West Palm Beach.

The F-35 Lightning II took to the air for the first time on 15 December 2006 with chief test pilot Jon Beesley at the controls. During this maiden flight, Beesley performed a military power takeoff and executed a series of maneuvers to evaluate the handling qualities of the aircraft.