F-35 “Jump Jet” Test

F-35 “Jump Jet” TestCourtesy Video F-35 Lighting II Pax River ITF
The F-35 Lightning II Pax River Integrated Test Force from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 conducted the first-ever ski jump of an F-35B Lightning II short take-off/vertical-landing (STOVL) variant June 19. During flight 298, BAE test pilot Peter Wilson launched aircraft BF-04 from a land-based ski jump located aboard NAS Patuxent River. This test is the first of a series of U.K. ski jump events scheduled for 2015. Lockheed Martin video by Dane Wiedmann