Pax River F-35 ITF leaves HMS Queen Elizabeth After

摘要

The F-35 Integrated Test Force team from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, departed HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) Nov. 19, following successful completion of the fifth-generation strike fighter's first set of fixed-wing flight trials aboard the new U.K. aircraft carrier. The trials-dubbed First of Class Flight Trials (Fixed Wing), or FOCFT(FW)-marked "a significant milestone on the Royal Navy's journey back to big deck carrier operations," said Royal Navy Capt. Nick Cooke Priest, HMS Queen Elizabeth's Commanding Officer.