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.
If you suffer air sickness, this footage is not for you. Here’s a B-roll showing two U.S. Marine Corps KC-130s flying with two F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters over Beaufort, South Carolina, during an […]
In September 2013, the Dutch Government announced the decision to buy 37 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets to replace the F-16s of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The first Dutch pilot, Maj. Laurens J.W. Vijge […]
F-35A Mini-Heritage Flight and First Lightning II at Selfridge ANGB for 100th Anniversary. The USAF F-35A Lightning II made history again this past weekend when it visited Selfridge Air National Guard Base for the first […]
Here’s a picture of the tank at weapon impact.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/f-35b-strikes-tank-with-guided-bomb-in-test-392372
Looks like a miss to me…