...As First British Pilot flies F-35C

摘要

Squadron Leader Jim Schofield became the first British military test pilot to fly the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II. He undertook the 66th flight of CF-2 at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, on February 21.rn"This is another major step forward for the UK's Joint Combat Aircraft [JCA] programme," said Group Captain Harv Smyth, the UK's Joint Strike Fighter national deputy. "Squadron LeaderrnSchofield is now test-flying both the [short take-off and vertical landing] and carrier variants of the F-35, which affords the UK unprecedented early learning regarding this fifth-generation air system. This is a very exciting period for JCA, as not only are we testing both the 'B and the X variants, but we look forward to taking delivery of our first production F-35 aircraft later this year."