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F-22 / F-35 5th Generation jets | News & Discussions.
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Even as U.S. Air Force test pilots put the F-35 through its training syllabus at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., they are gradually pushing the Lightning II to its limits.
Later this year, the first training F-35s will head to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and international partners will train operational pilots to fly the new stealth fighter.
"We expect the first jet to be delivered to the 33rd Fighter Wing in June, and that by the end of September, six F-35As would be delivered to the base to train pilots and maintainers," said Michael Rein, spokesman for F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
But first, the F-35 must complete "maturity testing," said Lt. Col. Hank "Hog" Griffiths, an F-35 test pilot and director of the integrated Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) test force.
"What we're going to do is, is we're going to take the airplane here at Edwards and fly it in the exact envelope and configuration that Eglin is going to fly it in and then we're going to go out there and execute the Eglin syllabus here at Edwards."
The tests will determine how well the aircraft performs in the training envelope and whether that envelope is sufficient for initial training, Griffiths said.
The F-35 has been tested at the speeds and altitudes required for the Eglin training course, but the airframe needs more flight hours on it, Griffiths said. Normally, an aircraft needs to have 2,025 hours in the air before the Air Force orders production to start, but the F-35 has accumulated only 1,332 as of June 6, he said.
The maturity tests are being performed by two test pilots from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, who will go on to become the first two instructors at Eglin, Griffiths said. The pair will then train and certify additional F-35 instructor pilots.
Meanwhile, the Edwards test pilots are also pushing the F-35 into high-speed tests.
Within the past month, they have moved from a top speed of Mach 1.3 to Mach 1.53 at 39,000 feet. Soon, the pilots hope to hit the aircraft's maximum speed of 700 knots.
"We're taking baby steps out there to make sure our air data system is meeting our predictions, so therefore we don't just jump out to Mach 1.6," Griffiths said.
Still, tests are progressing rapidly.
"We're in the process of clearing out that envelope pretty quickly," he said.
Once the aircraft achieves its maximum airspeed, the pilots will begin testing g-loading at high airspeeds and various altitudes. Most of the envelope will be rated to 9 G, Griffiths said.
Then the pilots will start the tests again, this time laden with weapons.
Compare And Contrast
The F-35's ability to carry weapons and a large fuel load inside its own skin makes the plane far less draggy on a combat mission than the F-16 or F/A-18, which sling missiles, bombs and fuel tanks below their wings and fuselage, Griffiths said . Moreover, a combat-laden F-16 loses much maneuverability, whereas the F-35 is barely affected by carrying 18,000 pounds of internal fuel and 5,000 of internal weaponry.
"It flies fantastic," he said.
Griffiths declined to compare the F-35 to the F-16s he once flew. But he noted the F-16 is only technically an 800-knot and Mach 2.02 aircraft. In practical terms, most pilots will never see speeds above 700 knots or Mach 1.6 because real-world load-outs don't allow it.
The F-35 can't supercruise like the F-22 Raptor, but the test pilots have found that once they break the sound barrier, supersonic speeds are easy to sustain.
"What we can do in our airplane is get above the Mach with afterburner, and once you get it going ... you can definitely pull the throttle back quite a bit and still maintain supersonic, so technically you're pretty much at very, very min[imum] afterburner while you're cruising," Griffiths said. "So it really does have very good acceleration capabilities up in the air."
Retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, formerly the Air Force intelligence chief and a veteran F-15 pilot, said having that kind of capability is a huge advantage.
"I'm real happy to hear that in fact is the case, because speed gives you a variety of advantages," he said. "It allows you to employ your air-to-air missiles from a range much greater than otherwise would be the case."
Though the F-35's maximum speed is Mach 1.6, the F-35 test program will eventually push the jet a little beyond that limit to make sure operational pilots have a margin of safety, Griffiths said.
The other main major focus of testing at Edwards is mission systems testing, Griffiths said. Pilots are testing Block 1 software, a further development of which will be released as part of an expanded training envelope and is needed for training at Eglin early next year.
Pilots training at Eglin will have some basic synthetic aperture radar modes for ground mapping; some imagery from the Electro-Optical Targeting System, akin to a internally mounted targeting pod; infrared images from six cameras called the Distributed Aperture System; simulated GPS and laser-guided weapons; and some basic electronic warfare system capabilities, he said.
The aircraft will also carry AIM-120 missiles and some air-to-ground weapons. The goal is to clear those capabilities this year, Griffiths said.
Like his Navy and Marines Corps counterparts, Griffiths offered unqualified praise for the F-35's sensor suite, which even in its infancy is proving extremely capable.
Jittery Display
The one concern that Griffiths voiced was about the helmet-mounted display, which is still showing jittery images.
But he said new software loaded June 7 onto one of the Edwards jets is intended to help fix the problem. If all goes as planned, the only hardware change that will be required will be to fix the night-vision system, which still does not offer the resolution that is needed.
As of May 31, Griffiths said, the Edwards F-35s had flown a total of 2,513 test points against a plan of 1,995. As of that date, the F-35A was hitting all of its key performance parameters, and radar cross-section testing is exceeding specifications.
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20110613/DEFFEAT04/106130302/F-35A-Testing-Moves-Into-High-Speeds
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BlueDot_in_Space
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Indian LCA Tejas is also at this crucial test stage.This is the first time India will be doing such kind of tests, will be a steep learning curve.
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It will be hard, but worth it.
To be clear, every other stealth warplane has steadily lost its ability to dodge enemy radars owing to wear and tear on the plane’s special skin coating. Not so the F-35, O’Bryan said.
Lockheed’s O’Bryan told reporter Tirpak that the F-35′s advanced technology will reverse this trend of gradually eroded stealth. In contrast to old-style coatings, “the conductive materials needed to absorb and disperse incoming radar energy [on the F-35] are baked directly into the aircraft’s multilayer composite skin and structure,” Tirpak reported, citing O’Bryan.
Over time the JSF’s skin will settle, O’Bryan boasted, making it even smoother and more radar-evasive — all without any of the expensive upgrades required by previous stealth planes.
The F-35, of which the Pentagon plans to buy more than 2,400, is a brand-new design that’s still only part-way through testing, so it’s impossible to verify O’Bryan’s claim. Only time will tell for sure.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/11/f-35-gets-stealthier/
Lockheed’s O’Bryan told reporter Tirpak that the F-35′s advanced technology will reverse this trend of gradually eroded stealth. In contrast to old-style coatings, “the conductive materials needed to absorb and disperse incoming radar energy [on the F-35] are baked directly into the aircraft’s multilayer composite skin and structure,” Tirpak reported, citing O’Bryan.
Over time the JSF’s skin will settle, O’Bryan boasted, making it even smoother and more radar-evasive — all without any of the expensive upgrades required by previous stealth planes.
The F-35, of which the Pentagon plans to buy more than 2,400, is a brand-new design that’s still only part-way through testing, so it’s impossible to verify O’Bryan’s claim. Only time will tell for sure.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/11/f-35-gets-stealthier/
It can't perform VTOL because it is heavy and it might damage it a bit. Remember it is heavier than an F-15! But it can perform STOVL.
jhungary
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People have been very unfair or unflatter to the F-35 program. I don't really know why.
Although i don't really like the F35 either (Since my brother is working for Boeing not LM) i do consider F-35 is a good combat aircraft.
When people hear about 5th generation fighter, they immediately thinking of a Air superiority Fighter (ie F-22) yes, the F-22 is currently the best fighter aircraft there are currently in the world, but you should not compare any 5th Gen currently developing by any other country to F-35. Comparing them will be like to ask a F-16 pilot to go do a ariel combat manuver with an F-15C pilot.
F-35 is NOT a air superiority role fighter in nature, they are Close air support aircraft that have air to air capabity. The role of F-35 is mainly to ground attack which was currenly covered by F-16 and A-10 in the Air Force and F-18E/F in the navy. The fact people don't see is while the other part of the world started their main 5th gen program, the US is not merely starting but actually converting all their inventory into 5th gen, that is a very big different between having them and using them. You are tlaking about 2400 F-35 aircraft will be in service with the USAF by the end of 2018.
The problem is people generally don't see that, when they see the tag 5th gen, they are thinking, oh, then you must have what the F-22 have then. No, they were never intent to be use like a F-22 and they were suppose to operate beside the F-22 while the F-22 do a high sweep and F-35 uses downlow to support ground troop.
Although i don't really like the F35 either (Since my brother is working for Boeing not LM) i do consider F-35 is a good combat aircraft.
When people hear about 5th generation fighter, they immediately thinking of a Air superiority Fighter (ie F-22) yes, the F-22 is currently the best fighter aircraft there are currently in the world, but you should not compare any 5th Gen currently developing by any other country to F-35. Comparing them will be like to ask a F-16 pilot to go do a ariel combat manuver with an F-15C pilot.
F-35 is NOT a air superiority role fighter in nature, they are Close air support aircraft that have air to air capabity. The role of F-35 is mainly to ground attack which was currenly covered by F-16 and A-10 in the Air Force and F-18E/F in the navy. The fact people don't see is while the other part of the world started their main 5th gen program, the US is not merely starting but actually converting all their inventory into 5th gen, that is a very big different between having them and using them. You are tlaking about 2400 F-35 aircraft will be in service with the USAF by the end of 2018.
The problem is people generally don't see that, when they see the tag 5th gen, they are thinking, oh, then you must have what the F-22 have then. No, they were never intent to be use like a F-22 and they were suppose to operate beside the F-22 while the F-22 do a high sweep and F-35 uses downlow to support ground troop.
TheRafael00000
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What will be the projected price for f-35?I think the price of f-22 raptor is way too much! You can get almost equal technology with reverse engineering from China.
When everthing is settled 80 million.
jhungary
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Everybody in the Air Force i know hope to fly the Lighting II (And i know quite a few pilot) They are the best you can come with for an multi-role aircraft. You can't ask anymore than that
more than 80 mil now with the latest delay. It's projected at 100-110 mil per aircraft rolled out, and it got more expensive for B and C version.
BUT lockheed is briong the contract out for comp, so it may be a bit less than the quote price now after the delay.
I think the B version costs about 200 million dollars, but it should come down.
Right now there are 24 F-35A flying, three export versions (serial number F-001, BK-1, and BK-2)
canadian icehole
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Fighter jet crashes near Florida Air Force base
Looks like it crashed near a highway just south of Panama City. Pilot ejected and receiving medical treatment at the base.
Looks like it crashed near a highway just south of Panama City. Pilot ejected and receiving medical treatment at the base.
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