First Ski-jump Takeoff Flight-test for F-35B | Aviation International News

First Ski-jump Takeoff Flight-test for F-35B

The technique will be used to launch F-35Bs from British and Italian aircraft carriers.

F-35B development aircraft BF-04 gets airborne from the ski-jump ramp at NAS Patuxent River, Md., for the first time. (Photo: Andy Wolfe, F-35 JPO)

By Chris Pocock • Defense Correspondent

June 24, 2015

The STOVL version of the Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter conducted its first ski-jump takeoff on June 19. The Lockheed Martin F-35B development aircraft, BF-04, was launched from a test ramp at NAS Patuxent River, Md. The British and Italian naval air arms will use the technique on their aircraft carriers, in lieu of catapults, to boost the takeoff weight—and therefore the payload—of their F-35Bs.

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