On Dec. 3, an F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft completed the program's first aerial weapons release of an inert 500-pound GBU-12 Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb. The aircraft (BF-3) dropped an inert GBU-12 over the Atlantic Test Ranges from an internal weapons bay. The internal weapons carriage allows the F-35 to maintain a low-observable profile when combat loaded. The F-35B is a short take-off and vertical landing-capable fighter aircraft, designed for use by the U.S. Marine Corps as well as defense partners in the United Kingdom and Italy.