F-35 Lightning II undergoes extensive all-weather climatic testing

Personnel at the U.S. Air Force 96th Test Wing’s McKinley Climatic Laboratory located at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., have subjected the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II -- a single-seat and single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighter jet – rigorous climatic testing over the past four months.

An F-35B military aircraft from the F-35 Patuxent River Integrated Test Force in Maryland has endured extreme weather temperatures during tests designed to certify the fleet for deployment in any corner of the world.

With 13 countries currently involved with the program, the F-35 must be tested in meteorological conditions representative of those locations from which it will operate -- ranging from the heat of the Australian Outback to the bitter cold of the Arctic Circle above Canada and Norway.

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