Lockheed Martin has also delivered the first CF-6, the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II Navy Carrier Variant (CV) aircraft at Strike Fighter Squadron 101 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
The CF-6 joins a fleet of 12 F-35A Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL) jets and 13 F-35B Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) jets already assigned to Eglin. Later this year, four additional CVs will join the fleet. The F-35 aircraft will be used Strike Fighter Squadron 101 to train pilots and maintainers.
According to Lockheed Martin Executive Vice-President and F-35 Program General Manager, “We are committed to the Navy’s vision for the F-35 that will revolutionize forward-based combat power in current and future threat environments. The F-35 represents the new standard in weapon systems integration, maintainability, combat radius and payload that brings true multi-mission capability to the Navy.”
The F-35C, the Carrier Variant for the US Navy and Marine Corps, has larger wings and more robust landing gear than the other F-35 variants. At 19,624 lbs, the CV has the greatest internal fuel capacity making it suitable for catapult launches and arrested landings aboard aircraft carriers. With folding wings, the C-variant uses probe-and-drogue refuelling like the F-35B. Three distinct variants of the F-35 will replace the A-10 and F-16 for the USAF, the F/A-18 for the US Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the US Marine Corps and a variety of fighters for at least ten other countries. The US Navy plans Initial Operational Clearance with the CV in 2019.