#/media/File:Red_Arrows_flying_over_HMS_Illustrious._MOD_45147895.jpg){kind=link}
The Red Arrows fly over HMS Illustrious near RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus during display practice in 2008.
As the UK's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth nears full combat readiness, pilots are testing out the F-35B for takeoff from the carrier's "ski-jump" platform.
With its massive lift fan, the US Marine Corps' F-35B can takeoff from a flat-deck carrier in a short distance and land vertically, but with the Queen Elizabeth's ski-jump platform, the F-35B can takeoff with heavier load outs and more fuel.
In rough seas, when the Queen Elizabeth may pitch and roll violently, the ski-jump platform can ad margins of safety compared to US-style flat deks, IHS Janes reports.
In the video below, watch an F-35B laden with air-to-air and air-to-ground bombs flawlessly take off from a ramp in preparation for deployment on the Queen Elizabeth.