For the first time, an F-35B joint strike fighter has completed a ski-jump launch.
A video posted on YouTube on Tuesday shows the launch, dated June 19 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
In the video, a short-takeoff, vertical-landing variant of the F-35 for the Marine Corps and the U.K. takes off on a land-based ramp that simulates the flight deck of Royal Navy aircraft carriers.
RELATED: F-35 jump jet inches closer to fleet debut
The U.S.-U.K. test will continue phase one of ski-jump testing this summer, according to a U.K. Defence Ministry press release.
“Friday’s F-35B ski jump was a great success for the joint ski jump team,” BAE Systems test pilot Peter Wilson said, according to the release. “I’m exceptionally proud of this team. Their years of planning, collaboration and training have culminated in a fantastic achievement that advances the future capabilities of the aircraft and its integration into U.K. operations.”
U.S. F-35Bs will take off vertically from amphibious assault ships. The aircraft in the video features markings for the USS Wasp, a big-deck amphib that has been running flight deck tests of the F-35 since late May.
Aside from the jump-jet variant, Lockheed Martin is building conventional takeoff aircraft for the Air Force and carrier aircraft for the Navy.
