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he Lightning II accomplished the final
developmental test flight of the System
Development and Demonstration
(SDD) phase of the programme on April 11,
2018, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River,
Maryland, as F-35C CF-02 completed a
mission to collect loads data while carrying
external 2,000lb (907kg) GBU-31 Joint
Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and AIM-
9X Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles.
“Completing F-35 SDD flight-test is the
culmination of years of hard work and
dedication from the joint government and
industry team,” commented VADM Mat
Winter, F-35 Program Executive Officer.
“Since the first flight of [F-35A] AA-1 in 2006,
the developmental flight-test programme
has operated for more than 11 years mishap-
free, conducting more than 9,200 sorties,
accumulating over 17,000 flight hours, and
executing more than 65,000 test points
to verify the design, durability, software,
sensors, weapons capability and performance
for all three F-35 variants. Congratulations
to our F-35 test team and the broader F-35
enterprise for delivering this new, powerful
and decisive capability to the warfighter.”Completion of SDD opened the
door for operators to field the latest
Block 3F software and its associated
capabilities, while also paving the way
for the commencement of formal Initial
Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E)
at Edwards AFB, California, this autumn.
It marks a stark contract with a project that
was in serious trouble eight years before, when
the weight of the world appeared to be on the
shoulders of senior programme officials as the
F-35 struggled to shake off concerns over cost
and performance. The test fleet was repeatedly
grounded by technical faults, production was
in chaos and budgets were being busted.A brief history
Boeing and Lockheed Martin received
funding for two demonstrators each
as they fought out the competition for
the Joint Strike Fighter. The X-32 and
X-35 respectively had to prove the short
take-off and vertical landing (STOVL),
conventional take-off and landing
(CTOL), and carrier suitability attributes
of the designs in a competitive fly-off.The F-35 programme
accomplished the final
developmental test
flight of the System
Development and
Demonstration (SDD)
phase in April. It marked
the culmination of the
initial major phase of
testing, and represents
one of the most
significant programme
milestones to date.A TEST OF
CHARACTER
T