US Marine Corps Maj. Joseph Bachmann delivered the third production F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing aircraft to the F-35 Integrated Training Center at Eglin AFB, Florida, on 19 January 2012. Bachman took off from the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas, and landed ninety minutes later at the base in the Florida Panhandle near Fort Walton Beach. The aircraft (Navy Bureau Number 168058) is assigned to Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) and will be used for pilot and maintainer training. The aircraft joins the two F-35Bs delivered to Eglin on 11 January and six F-35A conventional takeoff and landing aircraft at Eglin delivered previously.
