LOS ANGELES Initial testing in the flight demonstration phase of the Joint Strike Fighter program is now fully underway with first flight of Lockheed Martins X-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft. The company’s contender successfully completed an initial 22-min. flight Oct. 24 that began at Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale, Calif., at 9:06 a.m. PDT and ended with a landing at Edwards AFB, about 30 mi. from Palmdale.

LONDON U.K. aircrews were woefully ill-equipped for their missions in NATO operations in Kosovo, according to a House of Commons Defense Committee report, especially in terms of precision-guided munitions, an area now receiving special attention.

DALLAS Beal Aerospace Technologies Inc. last week ceased operations in the wake of NASA plans to subsidize development of human-rated vehicles the company’s chief official claims would compete directly with its BA-2C heavy-lift booster system.

COLARADO SPRINGS The U.S. Air Force and its F-22 Raptor contractor team completed the first AIM-120C Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile test launch last week, meeting a critical milestone required to release production funding.

FORT WORTH The U.S. Air Forces Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) F-16, equipped with a new, electrohydrostatic flight control system designed for the Joint Strike Fighter, made its first flight on Oct. 24, only 11 min. before Lockheed Martin’s X-35A took off on its maiden flight in Palmdale, Calif.

NEW YORK AirNewco, an airline-led businessto-business initiative, last week joined forces with MyAircraft, which is spearheaded by three of the aero-space industry’s largest suppliers, to form an e-commerce exchange unparalleled in scope within aviation.