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Video: F-35 Completes First Vertical Landing at Sea

Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin
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Key Takeaways:

  • A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B successfully completed its first shipboard vertical landing on the USS Wasp during preliminary ship suitability testing.
  • This milestone is part of ongoing two-week testing, aiming for a total of 67 landings on the Wasp.
  • The achievement is significant as it follows a decade of the F-35 program, particularly the B variant, being plagued by delays, cost increases, and development problems, which had led to a two-year probation.
  • The Pentagon is hailing this specific test as a success, noting it was delivered on schedule despite the program's prior difficulties.
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A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B completed its first shipboard vertical landing on Tuesday, touching down on the deck of the USS Wasp in the Atlantic during preliminary phases of ship suitability testing.

The Joint Strike Fighter will continue shipboard testing during the next two weeks, striving to complete a planned 67 landings on the Wasp during that time frame.

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