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JSF breaks sound barrier for first time

The F-35 Lightning II broke the sound barrier for the first time during a test flight Thursday over northern Texas.

The jet, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, accelerated to Mach 1.05, or about 680 miles per hour, builder Lockheed Martin said in Nov. 14 press release.

“The F-35 transitioned from subsonic to supersonic just as our engineers and our computer modeling had predicted,” said Jon Beesley, Lockheed Martin’s chief F-35 test pilot.

Beesley said it was also a significant achievement for a test aircraft to fly supersonic for the first time with the weight of a full 5,400-pound internal load of inert weapons.

Beesley guided the jet to 30,000 feet and accelerated to Mach 1.05. The F-35 accomplished four transitions through the sound barrier, spending eight minutes in supersonic flight.

Future testing will expand the flight envelope to the aircraft’s top speed of Mach 1.6.

The milestone was achieved on the 69th flight of F-35 aircraft AA-1.

F-35 AA-1, a conventional takeoff and landing variant (CTOL) to be flown by the Air Force, and F-35 BF-1, a short takeoff/vertical landing variant (STOVL) intended for the Marine Corps, together have flown 83 test flights.

The Air Force intends the F-35 to replace F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Thunderbolts.