F-35B Lightning II completes Solar Array Lighting test at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin AFB

An F-35B Lightning II short take-off/vertical-landing (STOVL) variant underwent Solar Array Lighting Test at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base. With 13 countries currently involved in the F-35 Lightning II program, the Salty Dogs of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 tested aircraft BF-05 in a wide array of meteorological conditions representative of climates ranging from the heat of the Outback of Australia to the bitter cold of the Arctic Circle above Canada and Norway. Since 2010, the PAX ITF has flown more than 1,800 test flights, logged 2,544 test hours and completed 12,800 F-35B test points, directly resulting in the USMC Initial Operating Capability flight clearance. (Lockheed Martin photo credit Michael D. Jackson.)