US F-35 jet makes ´landmark´ aircraft carrier landing

WASHINGTON, Nov 03, 2014 (AFP) -The USA military´s F-35 fighter jet created its 1st landing aboard Associate in Nursing warship on Mon, in what officers referred to as a milestone for the new advanced military plane.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is that the costliest weapons program in USA history and has been laid low with technical glitches and price overruns, however the Pentagon touted the landing stumped a vital success.

The take a look at flight had the Joint Strike Fighter with success touching down on the USS Chester Nimitz off the coast of San Diego, with the pilot guiding the plane thus its tailhook snagged on the ship´s impressive wires, the naval forces same during a statement.

There area unit 3 variants of the plane, a regular model, a second designed for short-landing and vertical take-off and therefore the third -- the F-35C -- outfitted to work from craft carriers.

"Today could be a landmark event within the development of the F-35C," same pilot Commander Tony Wilson.

The landing is an element of flight testing stumped which will last for regarding fortnight, and can facilitate pave the thanks to deploy the craft within the armed service fleet by 2018, officers same.

"We set up on learning lots throughout this organic process take a look at and can use that data to create the armed service variant of the F-35 a good more practical construction," general officer Chris Bogdan, head of the F-35 program, same during a statement.

The Pentagon plans to pay $391.2 billion on a complete a pair of|of two},443 F-35 craft, that area unit factory-made by defense large Lockheed Martin.

The plane is meant to create the backbone of the military´s future fighter fleet, guaranteeing the USA military´s dominance within the skies for years to come back with radar-evading technology.

But the program has faced  a litany of issues, and therefore the latest happening came in June once a mysterious engine hearth LED commanders to ground the fleet shortly till the matter may be resolved.

As a result, officers had to cancel plans to send the F-35 to fly at Britain´s prestigious Farnborough air show in July owing to safety precautions.

Repairs area unit underneath means within the take a look at fleet which will make sure the plane´s engines area unit sound, in line with Pentagon officers.