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 freelance 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 four books.
F-35C Lightning II Conducts First Night Flight Ops During Developmental Testing aboard USS Nimitz On Nov. 3, F-35C CF-3 piloted by Navy test pilot Cmdr. Tony Wilson, conducted the very first arrested landing of the Joint […]
On Jul. 11, 2012, F-35B BK-2 took the air from NAS Fort Worth JRB for the aircraft’s inaugural flight. Piloted by Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti, the second F-35 produced for the United Kingdom […]
A Norwegian pilot shared his experience flying mock aerial combat with the F-35. As we reported last year, the debate between F-35 supporters and critics became more harsh in July 2015, when War Is Boring […]
