Taking place over a three week period in August 2013, two F-35B’s from the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, detached aboard USS Wasp for a variety of at-sea testing to prove the operability of the stealth jet aboard a Marine LHD class ship. This was the second of three total developmental tests for the F-35B, known as DT-II. The test period was noted for conducting the first night takeoffs and landings at sea for the F-35B, for its testing of heavyweight operations with internal weapons loaded on the jets, and for expanding the wind envelope for working at-sea. In addition, this detachment saw Royal Air Force Pilot, Squadron Leader Jim Schofield, become the first foreign pilot to fly an F-35B at sea and personnel from the Royal Navy participating in operations aboard the ship in preparation for integrating the F-35B aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth for future flight operations.
Video Courtesy Lockheed Martin
Videographers: Layne Laughter and Jeff Flamer
Video is released under Public Domain.
