Airplane Flew From Italy To Patuxent River Naval Air Station

An Italian Air Force F-35 became the first of the type to make a trans-Atlantic crossing last week when the airplane touched down at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland Friday.

The aircraft, dubbed AL-1, began its journey from Cameri Air Base in Italy on Tuesday. It flew to Lajes Air Base in Portugal, where it was delayed in its crossing by unfavorable weather conditions according to Defense News.

The plane, flown by Major Gianmarco (call sign "Ninja") made the final five-hour flight from Portugal to Maryland on Friday. The flight encountered 120 knot headwinds and turbulence, but Gianmarco, the first Italian F-35 pilot, told reporters that the plane performed well during both legs of the crossing.

For the flight over the ocean, Gianmarco was accompanied by two C-130s, a Eurofighter Typhoon, and two Italian tanker aircraft. The F-35 required refueling seven times to make it all the way from Italy to Maryland.

AL-1 is also the first F-35 to be built overseas at the Cameri Final Assembly and Check-Out facility.

Gianmarco finished his F-35 training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona in November.

The first trans-Atlantic flight of an F-35 was supposed to have happened in 2014, according to the report. But a fleet-wide grounding due to an engine fire forced cancellation of that flight.

This year, the Air Force plans to send a pair of F-35As to the Royal International Air Tattoo and the Farnborough Air Show in the U.K. Two Marine Corps F-35Bs are also scheduled to attend the events.

The Italian jet that flew across the Atlantic will spend three months in the U.S. undergoing  “electromagnetic environmental effects” (E3) testing, and then join the F-35 international training center at Luke,  according to William Couch, spokesman for Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division.

(Image from file. Not Italian F-35)

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