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| F-35B landing aboard the USS WASP for the first phase of shipboard operational tests. Photo: U.S. Marine Corps |
[Avionics Today 05-27-2015] Six U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II jet aircraft arrived Monday evening aboard the USS WASP off the coast of the United States’ Eastern Seaboard to mark the beginning of the first shipboard phase of the F-35B Operational Test (OT-1).
OT-1 will assess the integration of the F-35B while operating across a wide array of flight and deck operations. Specific OT-1 objectives include: demonstrating and assessing day and night flight operations in varying aircraft configurations; digital interoperability of aircraft and ship systems; F-35B landing signal officer’s launch and recovery software; day and night weapons loading; and all aspects of maintenance, logistics and sustainment support of the F-35B while deployed at sea. Additionally, the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps team is working closely with Naval Sea Systems Command (Navsea) to assess specific modifications made to USS WASP to support future deployments.
The at-sea period will continue aboard the Navy ship for the next two weeks. The data collected and lessons learned by the Navy during OT-1 will lay the groundwork for F-35B deployments aboard U.S. Navy amphibious carriers following the Marine Corps’ F-35B Initial Operating Capability (IOC) declaration planned for this coming July.