NAS PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (Aug. 28, 2018) Royal Navy Cmdr. Nathan Gray and U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Michael Lippert, both test pilots with the Integrated Test Force (ITF), conduct ski jumps and field carrier landing practices with F-35B Lightning IIs, Aug. 28, 2018, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River as part of the workups for the first of class flight trials aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08). Around 200 supporting staff from the ITF, including pilots, engineers, maintainers and data analysts, will take two F-35Bs test aircraft aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth this fall to evaluate the fifth-generation aircraft performance and integration with Royal Navy's newest aircraft carrier. This fixed-wing test period brings the U.K. one step closer to carrier strike capabilities. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin by Dane Wiedmann)