The US Air Force's (USAF's) Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter completed its first air-to-air weapons test against an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) target on 28 July, the air force announced on 1 August. The USAF test pilot, Major Raven LeClair, launched an AIM-9X missile from an F-35A's external wing hardpoint at Point Mugu Sea Test Range off the coast of California, according to the statement. "It's been said you don't really have a fighter until you can actually hit a target and we crossed that threshold with the first air-to-air weapon delivery of an AIM-9X," said Maj LeClair.
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