CH-53K Helicopter Transports F-35B Airframe From NAS Patuxent River To MCAS Beaufort - The BayNet

F-35B conducts vertical ‘flight’ without engine

A US Marine Corps CH-53K King Stallion helicopter has transported an inoperable F-35B Lightning II airframe from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, according to the US Navy. The F-35, known as BF-1, was the first aircraft of its type to perform a vertical landing. It had been stripped of its propulsion and mission systems, outer wings and other equipment before being transferred for …

CH-53K Helicopter Transports F-35B Airframe From NAS Patuxent River To MCAS Beaufort - The BayNet

U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461, Marine Aircraft Group 29, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), transport an F-35B Lightning II near Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, Aug. 27, 2025. The F-35, known as BF-1, was the first F-35 to perform a vertical landing and was transported to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, for use as a permanent static display. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Bryan G…

First F-35B Transported by CH-53K to MCAS Beaufort to be Retired as Static Display

Airframe BF-01 performed the F-35’s first vertical landing on Mar. 18, 2010, and the first vertical takeoff on May 10, 2013, at NAS Patuxent River. The first F-35B Lightning II STOVL (Short Take-Off Vertical Landing) jet to be built, and which performed the type’s first vertical take off and landing, was transported by a U.S. […]