This is the moment the new F-35B Lightning fighter jet took off from the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier for the first time in the UK.
The roar from the state-of-the-art jet could be heard for miles around as it launched from a “ski ramp” on HMS Queen Elizabeth’s flight deck while the ship was docked in Portsmouth.
The aircraft landed on board the 65,000-tonne carrier as it returned from the US, where flight trials for the new jet were recently carried out.
A Royal Navy spokeswoman said the aircraft did not return with the other British jets because of “repair and maintenance” work needed, but it would now return to RAF Marham – the UK’s F-35 base in Norfolk.
The spokesman added: “Following completion of successful flying trials in the US, one F-35 Lightning remained embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth in order for repair and maintenance work to be completed.”
The F-35B fighter is acclaimed as the world’s most advanced jet, with a top speed of 1.6 Mach – 1,200mph – and a range of 900 nautical miles.
