F-35B goes supersonic

written by australianaviation.com.au | June 15, 2010

F-35B BF-01 has exceeded the speed of sound. (JSF PO)

A Lockheed Martin F-35B STOVL variant of the JSF has exceeded the sound barrier for the first time.

The milestone, achieved by development aircraft BF-02 on its 30th flight, saw the aircraft achieve Mach 1.07 at 30,000ft during a sortie from the US Navy’s test facility at Patuxent River near Washington DC. BF-02 is one of four F-35Bs based at Pax River for flight testing.

Two F-35As have already achieved supersonic flight, the first being AA-1 in 2008 before it was retired for battle damage assessment testing.

australianaviation.com.au

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