Aircraft
F-35B ‘Probation’ Ended Despite Cautions in New Testing Report
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta ended the two-year “probation” for the STOVL version a year early.
The first two production F-35Bs for the U.S. Marine Corps were delivered to Eglin AFB in Florida on January 11. The STOVL version of the Lightning II has been removed from “probation,” although fixes for a series of developmental problems have not yet been fully tested. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
The first two production F-35Bs for the U.S. Marine Corps were delivered to Eglin AFB in Florida on January 11. The STOVL version of the Lightning II has been removed from “probation,” although fixes for a series of developmental problems have not yet been fully tested. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

There was good news for the F-35 program when U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta ended the two-year “probation” for the STOVL version a year early. Lockheed Martin F-35B executive v-p Larry Lawson said that “critical engineering challenges” had been solved.