Lockheed delivers two more F-35Bs to Eglin AFB

Lockheed delivers two more F-35Bs to Eglin AFB:

Lockheed Martin photo by Fred Clingerman, Jr.

Marine Corps test pilots ferried two more F-35B jets from Fort Worth to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida on Thursday.

The jets will join the growing contingent of F-35s -- now 10 -- based at Eglin for future flight training of new pilots, which is on hold until the test squadron complete all the test flying deemed necessary to prepare for pilot training.

Aircraft numbers BF-9 and BF-10 (above), departed Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, at 1:26 p.m. and 1:42 p.m. respectively the approximate 90-minute flight to Florida’s Emerald Coast. The jets became the 10^th and 11^th F-35s to join Eglin’s fleet. Both jets will be used for pilot and maintainer training at the F-35 Integrated Training Center.
One additional STOVL production jet, BF-11, will join the fleet at Eglin in the coming days. All three jets were formally accepted by the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency last week on behalf of the Marine Corps.
Prior to acceptance, the three F-35Bs underwent a series of company and government checkout flights at Lockheed Martin.
- Bob Cox