The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has ticked off another first, with US Air Force test pilots completing a night refuelling mission last week at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Test aircraft AF-4, an F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant, successfully rendezvoused with a KC-135 tanker during the three hour test mission, F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin said in a statement. Test missions with KC-10 tankers are also planned.
Lockheed has stepped up its public campaign to spruik the F-35 after the US this month announced plans to push back deliveries of the fighters, ostensibly due to ‘concurrency cost overruns.
