The UK's F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft will be based at RAF Marham in Norfolk, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announc...
The UK’s first 2 F-35 aircrafts are currently participating in the US flight test programme at Eglin AFB, Florida.
The first front line aircraft will be delivered from 2015 onwards with an initial operating capability(IOC) from land in 2018, followed by first flights from HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier later that year.
The original intention announced in 2005 was to base the aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth base.
A third F-35B for UK is expected to arrive this April at Eglin AFB. The aircraft will be the first F-35 stationed at the base to be equipped with the more advanced Block 2A software. Aircraft currently at the base are in the older Block 1A and 1B configuration.
F-35B will be jointly operated by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and the aircraft will operate from the Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers as well as from RAF Marham.
The first operational UK pilot selected to fly the Lockheed Martin F-35B undertook his first training sortie in the Joint Strike Fighter on 19 March at Eglin AFB, Florida.
It will supersede Tornado and now retired Sea Harrier fighter jet fleet of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The F-35B is a Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant in the F-35 family.
The single-engined, fifth generation fighter aircraft is designed and developed by Lockheed Martin. It is the first aircraft to combine stealth technology with STOVL capabilities and supersonic speeds.
Fifteen per cent of Joint Strike Fighter work is carried out in the UK, and over 130 British companies contribute to the supply chain. It is worth over £1bn to UK industry each year and will support around 25,000 British jobs over the next 25 years.
