The military flight release allows qualified F-35 test pilots to begin flying the fifth-generation fighter around Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Lockheed Martin)Local Area Flights Allowed For F-35 -- Defense News
The U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) on Feb. 28 issued a military flight release (MFR) for the service’s F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), which would allow test pilots at Eglin AFB, Fla., to begin local area flights.
“The Air Force, Joint Strike Fighter Program Office and other stakeholders have painstakingly followed established risk acceptance and mitigation processes to ensure the F-35A is ready,” Air Force Materiel Command Chief Gen. Donald Hoffman said in a Feb. 28 press release. “This is an important step for the F-35A and we are confident the team has diligently balanced the scope of initial operations with system maturity.”
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