EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif -- Two F-35s from the Royal Netherlands Air Force landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, following a five-hour flight from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The aircraft from the 323rd Squadron arrived for an operational test and evaluation phase with the Joint Operational Test Team (JOTT) co-located with the Integrated Test Force conducting developmental test and evaluation of the F-35.
The JOTT began conducting pre-Initial Operational Test and Evaluation early test events for score in January 2018 with cold weather testing, followed by additional testing starting in April, including two-ship scenarios, deployments, and weapons testing. Mission Data Load (MDL) Development and Testing - The U.S. Reprogramming Laboratory (USRL) demonstrated the capability to create functioning MDLs for Block 3F and earlier blocks during SDD; however, it still lacks adequate equipment to be able to fully test and optimize MDLs under stressing conditions to ensure adequate performance against current and future threats. - Significant additional investments, well beyond the current upgrades to the signal generator channels and reprogramming tools, are required now for the USRL to support F-35 Block 4 C2D2 MDL development.