A Belgian F-35 gets airborne for the first time

The third F-35A Lightning II to be produced for the Belgian Air Force (BAF) carried out its maiden flight from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 14. This milestone flight marked the first time an F-35A destined for Belgium had graced the skies after the first example (FL001; c/n AY-01) was publicly rolled out on December 10, 2023.For this maiden flight, F-35A (FL003; c/n AY-03, pictured) departed Lockheed Martin’s production facility – which is co-located at