"Mission X": short take-off, supersonic dash and vertical landing in a single X-35B sortie

Marine Corps Major Art Tomassetti performed an automatic short take-off at 80 knots, converted the propulsion system to conventional mode in flight, climbed to 25,000 feet and accelerated to Mach 1.05 before returning for a vertical landing. It was the first time a single aircraft had strung together a short take-off, a supersonic dash and a vertical landing in one mission. The demonstration, dubbed "Mission X", settled the underlying doubt about the feasibility of a supersonic STOVL fighter and weighed on the competition verdict three months later.