STOVL stealth fighter makes debut flight

FORT WORTH, Texas, 12 June 2008. The short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II completed its first at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth, Texas.

The F-35B will provide a combination of capabilities never before available: stealth, supersonic speed, and STOVL basing flexibility. Initial flights of the first F-35B will be conventional takeoff and landing, with transitions to STOVL flight beginning in early 2009. F-35 Lightning IIs will replace a wide range of existing aircraft, including A-10s, F-16s, F/A-18s, and Harriers.

The F-35 program is the world's largest military project, involving 11 countries and employing about 20,000 people worldwide.