F-35 test team performs first night SRVL aboard HMS Prince of Wales [Image 1 of 2]

UNITED STATES

10.29.2023

Photo by Kyra Helwick 

F-35 Lightning II Pax River ITF   

U.S. Marine Corps test pilot Maj. Paul Gucwa performs a vertical landing (VL) in an F-35B Lightning II short takeoff vertical landing (STOVL) variant strike fighter during a mission to expand the flight envelope for the technique aboard the U.K. aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) Oct. 29, 2023. Gucwa also performed the first night shipborne rolling VL (SRVL) during the evening’s flight period. Gucwa is one of three test pilots from embarked with a broader team from the Patuxent River F-35 Integrated Test Force (PAX ITF) to conduct flight test during the ongoing developmental test phase 3 (DT-3) flight trials. HMS Prince of Wales, the U.K.’s newest aircraft carrier and biggest warship, is deployed to the Western Atlantic for WESTLANT 23.

• Date Taken: 10.29.2023
• Date Posted: 10.30.2023 16:39
• Photo ID: 8096416
• VIRIN: 231029-O-PF253-7236
• Resolution: 3600x2400
• Size: 6.11 MB
• Location: US