First UK F-35 takes flight

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The UK's first production F-35, the short take-off and vertical landing jet, completed its 45-minute inaugural flight April 13. The plane, BK-1, will undergo a series of tests before being handed over to the UK's Ministry of Defence, which will then begin training and further testing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., later this year. BK-1 is the first of three F-35 jets that the UK has committed to buy -- two F-35Bs and one F-35C -- but the final size and makeup of the F-35 fleet order has yet to be determined. (Source: Defence Management Journal, Lockheed Martin, 04/16/12)