F-35B Lightning II releasing a Meteor missile test asset from its internal weapons bay in level flight

F-35B Meteor Test: First Release From the Internal Weapons Bay

by Max Grünwald | Nov 6, 2026 | Aviazione militare, Notizia | 0 comments

High over Maryland, a grey Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II opened its belly in level flight and let go of a long white missile. It fell away cleanly, its rocket motor cold and its fins locked. Nobody fired anything. That was the point.

On 5 November 2026 the F-35 Joint Program Office and MBDA announced that an F-35B had jettisoned a Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile from its internal weapons bay for the first time. The trial itself was flown more than four weeks earlier, on 7 October 2026, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

It is the first in a series of separation tests that should end with live firings, and it moves Britain and Italy a step closer to putting their most capable long-range air-to-air missile inside their stealth jets.

Informazioni rapide

Evento: First Meteor jettison from an F-35B internal weapons bay
Test date: 7 October 2026
Annunciato: 5 November 2026 (F-35 JPO and MBDA)
Posizione: NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, USA
Aeromobili: US Marine Corps F-35B of the F-35 Integrated Test Force
Pilota: Royal Navy test pilot, Air and Space Warfare Centre
Arma: Inert MBDA Meteor test asset, motor not ignited
Next step: More release profiles, then live firings

What Happened Over Pax River

The aircraft was a specially instrumented US Marine Corps F-35B assigned to the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Patuxent River. The weapon was a Meteor test asset, not a live round. According to the JPO, the missile separated from the jet without igniting its rocket motor or activating its control surfaces.

A combined UK and US team of Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Lockheed Martin personnel prepared and loaded the round. MBDA says the sortie was flown by a Royal Navy F-35 test pilot assigned to the Air and Space Warfare Centre and embedded within the test force.

The JPO image released with the announcement shows the moment of separation: the F-35B in straight and level flight, the missile already well below the fuselage.

Why a Jettison Test Comes First

Dropping a missile out of a bay is harder than it sounds. When the doors of a stealth fighter open at speed, the airflow inside the cavity becomes violent and unsteady, and a store released into it can pitch, yaw or strike the jet on the way out.

MBDA explains that jettison testing checks how cleanly and safely a missile detaches from its host aircraft in normal operation or during an emergency abort, without hitting the fuselage, damaging structure or upsetting the aircraft's flight dynamics. The JPO says the 7 October trial demonstrated safe separation in a complex aerodynamic environment.

“The trial successfully demonstrated the safe separation of the missile from the F-35B's internal weapons bay in a complex aerodynamic environment.”

F-35 Joint Program Office — JPO Public Affairs release 'F-35B completes first Meteor jettison flight trial', DVIDS, 5 Nov 2026

The data now goes back into the digital models engineers use to predict how the missile leaves the jet. Those models will shape every later release, so getting the first one right matters more than any headline.

From Captive Carry to Release

This is the second visible step for Meteor on the F-35B. In early 2025, VX-23 F-35Bs at Patuxent River flew the first captive-carry sorties with an inert Meteor in the bay, gathering environmental data on how the missile copes with life inside the jet.

US Marine Corps F-35B seen from below with its internal weapons bay open and a Meteor missile inside — Captive carry, early 2025: a Marine Corps F-35B banks away with its weapons bay open and an inert Meteor on board during the first flights with the missile. Photo: Lockheed Martin, via MBDA

The UK leads the Meteor integration on the F-35B, while Italy sponsors parallel work on the F-35A. In December 2025, Lockheed Martin, MBDA and the JPO completed ground vibration testing and weapons-bay fit checks for the F-35A version.

Support for the programme comes from the UK Ministry of Defence, the US Department of War and Italy's Ministero della Difesa, together with Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, MBDA and Northrop Grumman.

What Meteor Brings to the F-35

Meteor is already the primary long-range air-to-air missile on the Eurofighter Typhoon of the Royal Air Force. What sets it apart from rocket-only missiles such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM is its throttleable ramjet. A solid booster gets it going, then the ramjet keeps pushing for much of the flight instead of burning out early and coasting.

That sustained thrust lets the missile manage its energy and arrive at the end of a long shot with power still in hand, which is what shrinks a target's chances of out-turning it. Meteor also carries a two-way datalink, so the launch aircraft, or another platform, can update it in flight.

Paired with the F-35's sensors, that gives British and Italian F-35B pilots a much longer reach than they have today. The Italian Air Force flies both the F-35A and the F-35B, while the British fleet is made up of F-35Bs flown by the RAF and the Royal Navy.

“These developmental releases will culminate in live firings to confirm both separation and weapon fly-out performance under varying release conditions.”

MBDA — MBDA release 'METEOR completes first jettison trials from F-35', Nov 2026

Cosa succederà dopo?

MBDA says Meteor will be put through a series of release profiles over the coming months to prove safe separation across the F-35's operational envelope. Those developmental releases are meant to culminate in live firings that check both separation and how the missile flies after it leaves the jet.

No in-service date for the F-35B Meteor combination was given in the announcement. For now, the milestone is simpler and more important: the missile can leave the bay of a hovering-capable stealth fighter cleanly, and the engineers have the data to prove it.

Sources: F-35 Joint Program Office (DVIDS), MBDA, Defence Industry Europe, UK Defence Journal, The Aviationist

Domande frequenti

When did the F-35B first jettison a Meteor missile?

The first Meteor jettison from an F-35B internal weapons bay was flown on 7 October 2026 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. The F-35 Joint Program Office and MBDA did not announce it until 5 November 2026. It was the first in a planned series of Meteor jettison flight trials.

Who flew the F-35B Meteor jettison trial?

According to MBDA, the sortie was flown by a Royal Navy F-35 test pilot assigned to the Air and Space Warfare Centre and embedded within the F-35 Integrated Test Force. The aircraft was an instrumented US Marine Corps F-35B, and the missile was loaded by a joint team of Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Lockheed Martin personnel.

Was the Meteor in the F-35B jettison test a live missile?

No. The F-35B released an inert Meteor weapon test asset. The F-35 Joint Program Office says the missile separated from the aircraft without igniting its rocket motor or activating its control surfaces. The goal was to prove safe separation from the internal weapons bay and gather data, not to engage a target.

Why does a Meteor jettison test matter for the F-35?

Jettison testing shows that a missile can leave the aircraft cleanly without striking the fuselage, damaging structure or upsetting the jet's flight. The airflow around an open F-35 weapons bay is complex, so the data from the 7 October trial is being used to refine the digital models that predict how Meteor separates before live firings.

Which countries will carry the Meteor on the F-35?

The United Kingdom leads Meteor integration on the F-35B, and Italy sponsors parallel integration on the F-35A. The work is meant to give British and Italian F-35 crews a long-range air-to-air option. Meteor is already the primary long-range air-to-air missile on Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons.

What makes the MBDA Meteor different from the AMRAAM?

The MBDA Meteor uses a solid booster followed by a throttleable ramjet that keeps thrusting for much of the flight, while rocket-only missiles such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM burn out early and coast. Sustained thrust lets Meteor keep energy for the end of a long shot. It also has a two-way datalink for in-flight updates.