Marine Corps F-35B Takeoff and Landing On USS America
November 2016 - The F-35 Lightning II Pax River
Integrated Test Force (ITF) wrapped up its third and final
developmental test phase (DT-III) of the F-35B Short Takeoff
and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant aboard amphibious
assault ship USS America (LHA 6). The Pax River
ITF's highly diverse cadre of technicians, maintainers,
engineers, logisticians, support staff and test pilots
embarked aboard USS America with two F-35B aircraft from Air
Test & Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 at NAS Patuxent River,
Maryland to conduct F-35B carrier suitability and
integration testing.
During the three week detachment, the Pax
River ITF completed the F-35B Launch and Recovery Bulletin
for the fleet, attained the F-35B's final flight clearances
for operating from L-Class ships, and achieved 126 Vertical
Landings (VL)s, 128 Short Take Offs (STO)s, and two Vertical
Take Offs (VTO)s across 60 flights that logged 53.5 flight
hours during sea states that routinely featured +/- 5.5
degrees of roll and +/- 2 degrees of pitch. The F-35B STOVL
DT-III lays the groundwork for upcoming U.S. Marine Corps
F-35B deployments aboard U.S. Navy amphibious assault ships
beginning in 2018.
Also, conducting F-35B operations
aboard USS America with the Salty Dogs of VX-23 were Marine
Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron (VMX) 1 from
Edwards AFB, California and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron
(VMFA) 211 from MCAS Yuma, Arizona.
U.S. Navy video by Matthew Short and
Jeff Patnaude Video edited by USA Patriotism!
