Royal Air Force Squadron Leader James Schofield completed the first vertical landing by a United Kingdom military test pilot May 28, 2013 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. Schofield flew F-35B Lightning II test aircraft BF-1.

The F-35B is the variant of the Lightning II designed for use by the U.S. Marine Corps, as well as F-35 international partners in the United Kingdom and Italy. The F-35B is capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings to enable air power projection from amphibious ships, ski-jump aircraft carriers and expeditionary airfields. The F-35B is undergoing flight test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River, Md. and Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., aircrew training at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and deployed to the first operational squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin)

NAVAIR press release