CF-1, the first F-35C strike fighter test aircraft, has arrived at NAS Patuxent River, Md., F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin announced. The C model is optimized for operations from large-deck aircraft carriers. At Pax River, F-35 test officials will employ CF-1 in air-to-air refueling and performance tests. It joins several F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing test aircraft at the Maryland site. CF-1 arrived Nov. 6, completing a journey from NAS Fort Worth JRB, Tex., which is adjacent to Lockheed’s F-35 assembly facility.
The first flight of the secretive B-21 bomber has slipped to mid-2022, but the program is moving along well, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director Randall Walden said in an exclusive interview. The second copy of the B-21, which will be used for structural testing, is now on the production…