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The F-35 Lightning II successfully completed its first aerial refueling tests during its thirty-fourth flight on 12 March. A specially instrumented KC-135 tanker from the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California, was deployed to the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas, for the aerial refueling tests. During the flight, F-35 Chief Test Pilot Jon Beesley climbed to 20,000 feet and performed a series of pre-contact maneuvers to verify F-35 compatibility with the KC-135 refueling boom and its aerodynamic wake. The ninety-four minute, multiple-contact sortie also evaluated aircraft systems and handling while connected to the refueling boom. The test flight did not include transferring fuel.
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