US Air Force Maj. Matthew Phillips completed the first aerial weapons release of an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, from F-35A test aircraft AF-1 during a flight on 19 October 2012. The inert, instrumented AIM-120 was jettisoned from the aircraft’s internal weapons bay over the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Center test range at China Lake, California. This is the first in a series of weapon release tests that will lead to live fire launches. The F-35A is designed to carry a payload of up to 18,000 pounds using ten weapon stations. The F-35A features four internal weapon stations located in two weapon bays along with an additional three weapon stations per wing if required.
