F-35 fighter takes off from the highway. Unusual test in the USA
The American military in an unusual test practiced the landing and service of the F-35B aircraft … on the highway. A special test is to teach pilots how to operate in difficult conditions, where there is no access to a traditional airport.
U.S. Marines briefly turned the highway into an air base. Military instructors used the road infrastructure to practice improvised air support in difficult combat conditions.
An F-35B lands on a highway in the US – it’s a Marine exercise
In a recent test, the fighter used an old highway in California as a base. The F-35B fighter landed on the road first. Then the ground crew refueled the machine and changed its armament. After a short time, the plane took off and properly lifted off the ground.
The mission was not easy, because the area was fraught with obstacles. There is an active railway line in the vicinity of the road, which is only 15 meters wide, along the route there is a power line with numerous poles and ditches on the sides. An airman’s mistake can therefore have serious consequences. However, this did not happen.
Why do military planes land on the road?
Somewhat astonishing exercises have a deeper meaning. The U.S. Armed Forces are operating around the world, and the latest action is a possible scenario of operations in the Pacific. There is little good aviation infrastructure there, and a piece of straight road is much easier to find.
Military commentators add that the F-35B aircraft is usually a kind of “French dog”, because the machine requires a lot of logistical support for normal operation. In this case, however, the Navy has shown that the fighter can be fueled and armed in hard field conditions and operated with only two helicopters used for surveillance and communications.
