ABOVE: BF-04 piloted by Maj John Dirk during
ITF testing from NAS Patuxent River. Lockheed
Martin/Dane Wiedmann
BELOW: The ITF completed initial aircraft
handling trials for the ASRAAM and Paveway
IV on the F-35B at NAS Patuxent River in- Billie Flynn, Lockheed Martin’s F-
test pilot, and Sqn Ldr Andy Edgell from the
RAF completed nine ights ahead of weapons
(^14) separation testing. Lockheed Martin
will allow the fighter to maintain air
dominance against evolving threats.
“Our people have been here at NAS
Patuxent River since day one,” continued
Peters. “The ITF is here at Pax and also
over at Edwards AFB. SDD has been a full
test programme. It’s big, it’s expensive,
but it’s been very comprehensive.”
Peters says of the end of the SDD phase:
“It’s the end of the primary stage of delivery
[of the F-35] – the initial fleet capability.
We’ve been to all edges of the flight envelope,
we’ve tested all the stores both internally
and externally, we’ve fired missiles and
dropped bombs, the sensor suite is fully
checked out and passed fit for purpose.
We’ve concluded what for now is the primary
test programme, with a large number of
deliverables, and we are now transitioning
out of a contractor-led development exercise
into a government sustainment programme.”
UK focus
Fittingly, BAE Systems F-35 test pilot Peter
‘Wizzer’ Wilson was at the controls of CF-
for the landmark last SDD sortie. However,
the very next day he and the team were back
at work and the pace of the ongoing test work
is relentless. The ITF team may have got
over the line for SDD, but the work shows
no sign of letting up. Indeed, according
to Martin Peters the work load is actually
expected to pick up – it will just function
in a different way. The SDD F-35 fleet will
draw down slightly, and due to obsolescence
issues new aircraft are expected to join
the test force from 2023. Over the coming
F-35 LIGHTNING II UK FLIGHT TEST
BF-01 in STOVL Mode 4 with external stores and gun pod. Peter Wilson was at the controls for
this March 20, 2013 test ight. Lockheed Martin/Michael D. Jackson