AF-1 recently became the second F-35A test aircraft to reach 500 flight hours, announced F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The airplane reached the milestone on a test sortie from Edwards AFB, Calif., according to the company’s Jan. 23 release. This was AF-1’s 272nd flight, states the release. AF-1 began flying in November 2009. Back in June, AF-2 became the first F-35A to reach 500 flight hours, said Lockheed Martin. The F-35A flight test program has completed more than 43 percent of the overall test plan, noted the company.
United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket is slated to fly its second national security mission in February—nearly six months after its first operational launch and almost a year after it was certified to fly military payloads for the Space Force.
