Lockheed F-35 Fleet Surpasses 15,000 Flight Test Hours

Two F-35B Lockheed Martin photo by Michael D. Jackson. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter fleet recently surpassed 15,...

Two F-35B Lockheed Martin photo by Michael D. Jackson.

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter fleet recently surpassed 15,000 flight hours, marking a major milestone in the $392 billion program.

As of April 7, operational F-35s had flown 8,050 hours while System Development and Demonstration aircraft had accumulated 7,123 flight hours. In 2014, F-35A test aircraft have flown 328 hours; F-35B test aircraft have accumulated 191 hours; and F-35C test aircraft have flown 91 hours. In comparison, operational F-35As have flown 963 hours, while their F-35B and F-35C counterparts have accumulated 1,012 and 98 hours respectively for the year.

The U.S. Marine Corps plans to declare Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) in 2015, while the U.S. Air Force and Navy intend to declare IOC in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
The F-35 program consists three variants- the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A, the short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) – F-35B and the F-35C carrier variant (CV) designed for aircraft carriers.