After months of anticipation and setbacks, the Marine Corps' short-take-off, vertical-landing (STOVL) variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flew today while engaging the aircraft's lift fan for the first time, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. F-35 Lead STOVL Pilot Graham Tomlinson of BAE Systems flew the aircraft to 5,000 feet and engaged the shaft-driven lift fan propulsion system at 210 knots, then slowed to 180 knots with the system still engaged before accelerating to 210 knots and converting to...
