Lockheed Martin's Boeing 737-300-based Co-operative Avionics Test Bed, or CATBird, has been undergoing post-modification taxi tests at Mojave, California before its first flight. Originally due to fly in July, the aircraft, converted by BAE Flight Systems, will test mission system hardware and software before it debuts in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The 737 has been modified with the F-35's forebody on the nose, stub wings on the fuselage sides and spine and canoe fairings to accommodate avionics boxes, and contains an F-35 cockpit.

Alan Radecki 
© Alan Radecki  




Source: Flight International