The F-35A strike fighter recently completed a series of high-angle-of-attack tests at Edwards AFB, Calif., announced manufacturer Lockheed Martin on Thursday. “The testing accomplished high AOA beyond both the positive and negative maximum command limits, including intentionally putting the aircraft out of control in several configurations,” states the company’s May 16 release. The aircraft initially flew in its stealth clean-wing configuration, followed bytesting with external air-to-air pylons and missiles, and then with open weapon bay doors. “For all testing, recovery from out of control flight has been 100 percent successful without the use of the spin recovery chute, which is carried to maximize safety,” states the release. The F-35A last fall began edge-of-the-envelope high AOA testing.
The Pentagon is significantly bolstering airpower near Venezuela, dispatching the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to Latin America, it said in an Oct. 24 statement. The announcement came just hours after U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers and other U.S. assets flew near the Venezuelan coast on Oct. 23.
