This Air Force pilot just became the first woman to fly Lockheed's F-35 fighter jet

Lieutenant Colonel Christine Mau, a U.S. Air Force pilot who was part of the first all-female combat sortie over Afghanistan in 2011, this week became the first woman to fly the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 jet, the Air Force said on Wednesday.

Mau, deputy commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing Operations Group, on Tuesday completed her first training flight in the single-seat stealth fighter after 14 virtual training missions in a simulator, said spokeswoman Lieutenant Hope Cronin.

Mau joined 87 F-35A pilots who have been trained over the last four years at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

"It felt great to get airborne. The jet flies like a dream, and seeing the systems interact is impressive," Mau said in a statement.

"It wasn't until I was taxiing to the runway that it really struck me that I was on my own in the jet," Mau said. "I had a chase aircraft, but there was no weapons system officer or instructor pilot sitting behind me, and no one in my ear like in simulators."

She said flying with the F-35's complex helmet, which fuses all sensor data from the jet on a mounted display on the helmet rather than in the jet's cockpit, took some adjustment.

Women have served in combat aviation roles in a wide range of U.S. aircraft for over 20 years, but they still represent only a small fraction of U.S. military pilots.

"Flying is a great equalizer," said Mau. "The plane doesn't know or care about your gender as a pilot, nor do the ground troops who need your support. You just have to perform. That's all anyone cares about when you're up there - that you can do your job, and that you do it exceptionally well."

While Mau was serving in Afghanistan, she was part of an all-female team that included pilots, weapons systems officers, and mission planners in Kunar Valley, according to the Air Force Times. Her team worked to provide air support to Afghan and coalition forces.

Mau told the Military Officers Association of America that she has wanted to fly jets since she was a little girl growing up near a Marine Corps air station in California.

Before she trained as an F-35 pilot, Mau served as an F-15E Strike Eagle pilot, according to the Air Force.

NBC News notes that the F-35 is "often described as one of the most technologically complex planes ever built."

(Reuters reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Ken Wills)