A Royal Air Force tanker is in the process of being certified to refuel the F-35 in mid-air. The Voyager tanker is deployed to NAS Patuxent River, Md., for F-35B air-to-air refueling trials, and is expected to complete its last test flight by mid-June, according to the F-35 program office. The tanker will fly 20 test flights, collecting data for a certification “later this year,” according to a press release. Once the RAF tanker is certified, it will join the US, Italy, Australia, and the Netherlands on the list of countries with tankers that can refuel the Joint Strike Fighter. (See also: F-35s to Fly at Farnborough.)
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
