Needing a boost after a downbeat report leak, Lockheed Martin tested a prototype of its latest Joint Strike Fighter for the Marines earlier. The supersonic F-35 Lightning II lands just like a helicopter (with super lift engines) and thinks like a pilot.

The skies over Fort Worth, Texas, hosted a historic aviation milestone earlier when the priciest plane on Earth – - an improved version of the F-35 Lightning II that lands vertically like a chopper, made its first flight.

Its pilot definitely had the chops to do the job: He learned to fly short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) airplanes during Jimmy Carter reign as the U.S President.