In its first demonstration of supersonic flight, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter flew Nov. 13 at Mach 1.05 or about 680 mph—and carried the weight of a full internal weapons load, according to a Nov. 14 company release. “The F-35 transitioned from subsonic to supersonic just as our engineers and our computer modeling had predicted,” said Jon Beesley, Lockheed’s chief F-35 test pilot, commenting, too, on its retention of “precise handling qualities” at that high speed. Beesley flew the conventional takeoff and landing F-35 AA-1 from Lockheed’s Fort Worth, Tex., production facility, climbing to 30,000 feet and accelerating to Mach 1.05 over a rural area in north Texas for a period of eight minutes and four transitions through the sound barrier, stated the release. Future testing will take the aircraft to its top speed of Mach 1.6 with a full weapons load. Beesley noted that it was significant that the F-35 had achieved its first supersonic flight with a full load.
The Air Force could conduct an operation like Israel's successful air campaign against Iran's nuclear sites, military leadership and air defenses, but readiness issues would make it risky, airpower experts said. Limited spare parts and training, low mission capable rates and few flying hours would put a drag on USAF's…