NAS Pax River Facility to Test Lockheed Martin Stealth Fighters for the Navy and Marine Corps
Posted on: Jan. 30th, 2006 - www.chron.com
Nine of the 15 F-35 flight-test aircraft will undergo evaluation at the Joint Strike Fighter Test and Support Facility at NAS Patuxent River. Arrival of the first jet, a short-takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B for the Marine Corps, is planned for early 2008. Testing of the Navy's F-35C, designed for catapult launches and arrested recoveries aboard large aircraft carriers, will begin in 2009. Both versions will be tested in land- and ship-based environments. The stealthy F-35 will be the most powerful single-engine fighter ever fielded.
