Even if the bomb used in the test did not contain any explosive, the F-35 test team made a new step towards operational status by conducting the program’s first guided weapon test on Edwards Air Force Base Precision Impact Range Area in California, on Oct. 29.
The Electro-Optical Targeting System, or EOTS, enabled the pilot to identify, track, designate and deliver the GBU-12 on target.
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.
The Italian Eurofighter Typhoons are involved in the OT&E in the air-to-ground mission. In the last weeks, the Italian Air Force Typhoons currently deployed to Decimomannu airbase in Sardinia have flown with Litening targeting pods […]
The following air-to-air photo shows an F-35B, the STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) version of the Joint Strike Fighter, during a test flight. Maybe it’s because it was taken as it was extending the […]
The Pentagon has just announced the first deployment to Europe for the U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft. The U.S. Air Force will deploy a “small number” of F-35A Lightning II aircraft this weekend […]