A press release by Lockheed Martin has confirmed the Air Force 96th Test Wing’s McKinley Climatic Laboratory located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is performing intense all-weather tests on an F-35B, a Short Take Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft.
The idea of all-weather testing is to ensure the aircraft is more than capable of performing in a wide variety of weather conditions and geographical locations across the globe.
The plane is expected to stay at the airbase until March 2015, undergoing a six-month assessment of the Joint Strike Fighter’s performance in wind, solar radiation, fog, humidity, rain intrusion/ingestion, freezing rain, icing cloud, icing build-up, vortex icing and snow.
Pretty intense, right?
Michael D. Jackson/F-35 Integrated Test Force
So far, reports are that the F-35B has met all expectations, even when being pushed to its environmental limits, ranging from 120 degrees to -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Michael D. Jackson/F-35 Integrated Test Force
