We here at DT had yesterday off so this is our Monday. To start the week off, we thought we'd show you these brand new pics of the F-35.
These cool and slightly awkward looking photos shows an F-35A Joint Strike Fighter flying with external weapons hard points for the first time ever. The jet, out of Edwards Air Force Base in California was armed with two AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles on the outer wing hard points and carried a couple of GBU- 31 2,000-pound bombs and a pair of AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs).
Don't get too excited though, the plane didn't fire any weapons on the February 16 flight.
From a Lockheed announcement:
The jet also had mounted four external pylons that can carry 2000-pound air-to-ground weapons. The F-35A 5th Generation fighter is designed to carry up to 18,000 pounds on 10 weapon stations featuring four weapon stations inside two weapon bays, for maximum stealth capability, and an additional three weapon stations on each wing.
Click through the jump for another pic.
