First F-35 shipborne rolling vertical landing to be made on HMS Prince of Wales
An American F-35B is set to complete the first shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) on HMS Prince of Wales.
F-35 jets so far have only landed on the £3bn Royal Navy aircraft carrier vertically, hovering by the side of the 65,000-tonne ship before moving sideways and slowly lowering onto the flight deck.
The SRVL will come as HMS Prince of Wales continues its long-awaited trials with the jets off the US east coast as part of the Westlant 23 deployment.
A rolling landing allows F-35 pilots to land on board the aircraft carrier with heavier loads, meaning they don't need to jettison fuel or weapons before landing.
The method sees the jets make a more conventional landing approach, closer to what would be seen on land.
Pilots approach the ship from behind at speed, before using thrust from the aircraft's nozzle and lift created by air over the wings to touch down and gently come to a stop.
HMS Prince of Wales teased the upcoming SRVLs in a post on X, previously known as Twitter.
The ship shared a video of an F-35 being armed with missiles and taking off to drop weapons in the Atlantic as part of Westlant 23.
HMS Prince of Wales' F-35 trials were delayed by a year after the ship broke down in August last year near the Isle of Wight as she deployed to the US east coast for exercises.
The ship had to undergo nine months of repairs, expected to cost about £25m.
The first SRVL on board HMS Prince of Wales' sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, was completed in October 2018.
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