The F-35C Lightning II recently completed qualifications aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, the latest progression as the joint strike fighter variant nears expected initial operational capacity this year.
The qualifications took place while the Lincoln was underway last week, according to a Navy release.
Pilots with Strike Fighter Squadrons 125 and 101 took on day and night qualifications and conducted 140 arrested landings, or traps.
The recent testing involved the use of the jet’s foldable wings, a feature which will let the jet cohabitate on the carrier with Hornet, Super Hornet and Growler jets.
Also tested during the recent underway was the F-35’s Autonomic Logistic Information System, or ALIS, a system that transmits aircraft health and maintenance information to users around the world.
The latest F-35C milestone comes after the jet’s fleet replacement squadron carrier qualifications aboard Lincoln in December.
That round of qualifications was the first time an operational squadron used the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System, or JPALS, which uses GPS to allow for carrier landing approaches in bad weather.
The F-35 has been plagued by cost overruns in its long road to become the U.S. military’s future stealth fighter jet.
Earlier this month, the head of the joint strike fighter said that follow-on modernization could add up to $16 billion between Fiscal 2018 and Fiscal 2024.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
