Lockheed Martin engineers are pouring over the results of several ground speed taxi tests of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter before giving the OK to take the new fighter into the air. In the last taxi test Tuesday, Lockheed’s chief test pilot Jon Beesley sped down the runway at speeds up to 127 mph. A company statement said Lockheed would alert the news media “upon conclusion of the flight.”
A U.S. F-35C shot down an Iranian drone operating near the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier Feb. 3 in a dramatic incident that American military officials cautioned could lead to conflict amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S.
