The first F-35C carrier variant arrived at the US Navy’s test facility at NAS Patuxent River near Washington on November 6.
The aircraft, designated CF-1, joins four F-35Bs at Pax River, where it will undergo air-to-air refuelling and performance testing by US Navy test pilots. The aircraft flew non-stop from Fort Worth with its F/A-18B chase plane, and refuelled from a US Marine Corps KC-130 tanker en route.
Meanwhile, Aviation Week reports that BF-4 flew on November 6 with the first Block 1.0 mission system software load. Block 1.0 advances from Block 0.5 with which the rest of the test fleet is flying in that it features greater levels of integration and maturity.
