BF-2, the second F-35B test aircraft, arrived in late December at NAS Patuxent River, Md. It joined BF-1, the first test aircraft in the short-takeoff/vertical landing configuration, that arrived there in November, but only recently returned to the air due to downtime for repairs. With both test aircraft now there and more to come, “Pax River is ready to begin the extensive four-year flight test campaign to help field the future of Marine Corps and Navy aviation,” said Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program general manager, in the company’s release. Marine Corps Maj. Joseph Bachmann piloted BF-2 nonstop from Lockheed’s F-35 assembly plant in Fort Worth, Tex., during its 3.5-hour flight to Pax River on Dec. 29, a sortie that included one in-flight refueling. Testing of the Air Force F-35A variant is also expected to ramp up in 2010 at Edwards AFB, Calif.
Details Murky as ARRW Falls Short in Second Test
March 24, 2023
The second all-up flight of the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon on March 13 fell short of a fully successful test, but the Air Force isn’t saying what went wrong with the Lockheed Martin-built hypersonic missile. The defense giant's Missiles and Fire Control division recently said the ARRW is "ready…