With any official confirmation,the British will allow F-35B to make its first flight outside of the United States on July 4 when the country’s newest aircraft carrier is christened by Her Majesty the Queen.
Apparently eager not to disappoint Queen Elizabeth, should the plane not be able to fly in the Scottish weather, and desirous of keeping the media’s focus on the majestic carrier upon which she will be cracking a bottle of Champagne open, the powers that be have decided not to confirm or deny that the aircraft will be on hand.
A fly-by at the new carrier’s christening could boost the plane’s fortunes and he pushed hard for it. The Royal Navy balanced the goodness of hosting a fly-by of the plane that will help make their new carrier such a potent weapon, against the possibility the flight would overshadow the carrier.
BAE Systems, prime contractor on the carrier and one of the most important subcontractors on the F-35 program pushed hard for the plane to fly and the company boasts significant political heft because of the large number of jobs resulting from from work on the carrier and the F-35.
Flight trials of the F-35B from the Queen Elizabeth are due to start in 2018. After the christening, the F-35B is also scheduled to fly at the Royal International Air Tattoo and then at the Farnborough Air Show.
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