F-35A successfully starts air refueling

It was the first time the new F-35A was refueled with a nontest pilot in the cockpit, and for all the excitement, it was a “nonevent,” the pilots and boom operators said.

On May 13, test pilots stepped aside to allow instructor pilots at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., fly the first F-35A formation to be refueled.

The mid-May flights were also the first since the fleet was cleared to fly after the Defense Department restricted in-flight refueling in the Air Force fleet.

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