CF-1, the first F-35C strike fighter test aircraft, has arrived at NAS Patuxent River, Md., F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin announced. The C model is optimized for operations from large-deck aircraft carriers. At Pax River, F-35 test officials will employ CF-1 in air-to-air refueling and performance tests. It joins several F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing test aircraft at the Maryland site. CF-1 arrived Nov. 6, completing a journey from NAS Fort Worth JRB, Tex., which is adjacent to Lockheed’s F-35 assembly facility.
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.