News Review: F-35B makes first deck landing | ADM November 2011

The F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) test aircraft BF-2 made its first deck landing aboard the USS Wasp last month, the first at-sea vertical landing for the Marine Corps’ STOVL (Short Take-Off vertical Landing) version of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

Marine Corps test pilot LTCOL Fred Schenk made the historic flight 48 years to the month after British test pilot Bill Bedford landed the Hawker P1127 prototype (later to evolve into the Harrier) aboard HMS Ark Royal.

The first vertical landing is part of the initial ship trials for the F-35B which started on 3 October and were expected to last two weeks. The tests are scheduled to collect data on the aircraft’s ability to perform short take-offs and vertical landings on a ship at sea, as well as determine how the aircraft integrates with the ship’s landing systems, and deck and hangar operations.

In addition to being the first ship to successfully land the F-35B, USS Wasp was also the first ship to host the V-22 Osprey during shipboard trials in October 2007.

Subject: JSF