F-35B performs first vertical take-off 12 May 2013 Dave Majumdar
F-35B performs first vertical take-off
"Sources say that test pilots at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, performed the first Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter vertical take-off on 10 May.
The US Marine Corps' short take-off and vertical landing variant had a requirement to perform vertical take-offs right from the outset of the JSF programme. However, the capability is not emphasised because the F-35B would not be able to carry a tactically significant payload in that configuration....
...The original X-35B prototype demonstrated the ability to take off vertically in 2001."