The F-35C fighter jet’s carrier landing is just the beginning in sea testing
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Version 0 of 1. The F-35C Joint Strike Fighter jet took a major step on Monday, making its first ever “arrested” landing on an aircraft carrier. Navy officials billed it as a historic moment, but it comes at the beginning of at-sea testing for the aircraft that will help determine when it is ready for combat missions. The jet landed on the USS Nimitz at 12:18 p.m. off the coast of California, with the ship’s wires snagging the plane and bringing it to a stop. A second plane landed in similar fashion a short time later, and both aircraft caught the preferred third arresting wire (there are multiple), according to a Breaking Defense reporter who witnessed the landings. There’s plenty more to come. The Navy is planning to complement its fleet of F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets with the F-35C, and will put the new plane through a number of trials over the next two weeks. They will include operational maneuvers, catapult takeoffs and more arrested landings, Navy officials said. Breaking Defense said night landings — considered more difficult — will occur near the end of testing this month. The Navy released several videos of the first landing. Here are a few others that show how the arresting wires work a bit better: |