US News

F-35 fighter makes first test flight with weapons

Feb 23, 2012, 12:03 GMT

A handout photo taken on 23 April 2009 and released by the US Air Force shows a F-35 Lightning II fighter jet flying over Eglin Air Force Base, in Florida, USA. EPA/US AIR FORCE/

Los Angeles - As global tensions rise over Iran's nuclear program, the US military's next-generation F-35 fighter has taken its first test flight carrying external missiles, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The stealthy, supersonic fighter built by Lockheed Martin Corp, performed the tests on February 16 at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert in south-eastern California.

The F-35, known as the Joint Strike Fighter, has been in development since 2006 and is the most costly programme in US military history, with almost 2,500 planes on order at a total cost of 382 billion dollars.

The Pentagon's 27.4-billion-dollar development contract with Lockheed Martin runs through 2016, and Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that the company was docked 31.5 million dollars last year after the plane failed to meet three milestones.

The jet will be used jointly by the Navy, Marines and Air Force. Three versions of the F-35 are being built to operate off aircraft carriers, to make short takeoffs and vertical landings, and a conventional fighter.

According to Lockheed Martin, the weapons load for the February 16 mission included two air-to-air AIM-9X missiles on the outboard wing stations. In addition, the F-35 carried two internal 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) guided bombs (GBU-31) and two advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AIM-120) inside its two internal weapon bays. No weapons were delivered during the mission. The jet also had mounted four external pylons that can carry 2000-pound (907 kg) air-to-ground weapons.

Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark are all contributing to the plane's development costs, while Israel and Singapore are also participating in the development. Japan announced plans to buy 42 F-35s in December.

Lockheed Martin statement: http://bit.ly/za98YG. LA Times report: http://lat.ms/yn2j56.