F-35 First Night Flight video

Published on: January 25, 2012 at 6:30 PM

On Jan. 19, 2012, the Lockheed Martin F-35A CTOL (Convetional Take Off and Landing) performed its very first night flight launching from Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Piloted by Lockheed Martin Test Pilot Mark Ward, the aircraft AF-6, launched at 17.05LT and landed after sunset at 18:22 LT. An F-16 chase plane accompanied the Joint Strike Fighter during its first after dark sortie.

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Note the green night formation lights, used by combat plane flying in close formation.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LIsv9LJPfU]

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By David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.