180925-N-ZZ999-020 NORTH ATLANTIC (Sept. 25, 2018) Royal navy Cmdr. Nathan Gray, test pilot with the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., gives a celebratory thumbs up after making the first ever F-35B Lightning II fighter jet vertical landing aboard the Royal navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08). The F-35B Lightning IIs aboard Elizabeth lay the foundation for the next 50 years of fixed wing aviation in support of the United Kingdom's carrier strike capability. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of the Royal navy by PO Arron Hoare/Released)