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Air Force

F-35 Destroys Drone In First Air-to-Air Kill

By Marc Selinger

Monday, August 1st, 2016

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F-35 Destroys Drone In First Air-to-Air Kill

An F-35 firing an AMRAAM. (Photo: Raytheon)

A Lockheed Martin-built [LMT] F-35 Lightning II shot down a drone target with a Raytheon [RTN] AIM-9X Sidewinder missile during a recent test off the California coast, achieving the new fighter jet’s first air-to-air kill, the U.S. Defense Department-led program office announced Aug. 1.Air Force Maj. Raven LeClair, a test pilot, fired the short-range missile July 28 from an F-35A's wing after the plane’s mission systems sensors identified and targeted the drone. The missile achieved a “direct hit,” according to…

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