Third F-35B For United Kingdom Makes First Flight

The third United Kingdom Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] F-35 Lightning II sped down the runway at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base embarking on its first flight.

The aircraft, known as ZM137, departed at 10:16 a.m. with Lockheed Martin F-35 Chief Test Pilot Alan Norman at the controls. ZM137 will complete a series of company and government checkout flights prior to its acceptance by the U.K. Ministry of Defence. ZM137 will join U.K. aircraft ZM135 and ZM136 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., later this year where it will be used for pilot and maintainer training.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 120,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2012 were $47.2 billion.


Source: FORT WORTH, Texas, Lockheed Martin News – 2 April 2013

Photo: The Royal Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II (Lockheed Martin photo by Randy Crites)


(2.04.2013)