F-35 fleet passes 15K flying

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The Lockheed Martin F-35 fleet recently surpassed 15,000 flight hours, a major milestone for the program. As of April 7, operational F-35s had flown 8,050 hours while System Development and Demonstration aircraft had accumulated 7,123 flight hours. In 2014, F-35A test aircraft have flown 328 hours; F-35B test aircraft have accumulated 191 hours; and F-35C test aircraft have flown 91 hours. In comparison, operational F-35As have flown 963 hours, while their F-35B and F-35C counterparts have accumulated 1,012 and 98 hours respectively for the year. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 04/15/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.