F-35B Sea Trials on board USS Wasp

[Brian McGrath]

THis is supposed to have been filmed six weeks ago in the Atlantic, some nice take off and landings


Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v...feature=colike

[ZULU]

The new UCAS is currently on taxi trials at sea with USS Truman. Looks like that film stealth!

[Goldie fish]

Good news for the RN.

[Pure Hover]

Some nice hovering Wonder if the former Joint Harrier Force jocks are keeping their hand in?

[Tadpole]

Some nice hovering Wonder if the former Joint Harrier Force jocks are keeping their hand in?

Not sure what types but the RN have certainly sent crews overseas to keep their hand in on fast jet operations. The fear in the RN was that the move to cut the sea harrier was as much to bring all FJ operations under RAF control by down skilling RN crews. The RN countered this with overseas deployments, a bit like 'Operation Seedcorn' for the RAF Nimrod crews.

[Brian McGrath]

Some nice hovering Wonder if the former Joint Harrier Force jocks are keeping their hand in?

Having seen the Harrier at several Airshows the one thing that stands out in the video is just how stable the aircraft are in the hover, I love the way all the flaps open for different operations, do they have moveable thrusters like the Harrier or is it controlled by all of the opening and closeing flaps.

[ZULU]

Looking at cut away diagrams seems to be main thrust from the aft diverter nozzle in a downward position and a main lift fan just behind the cockpit. There looks to be two under wing thrust nozzles/ outlets also

[Jungle]

Hmm... so many people were betting on the F-35 being a lemon... we have our own controversy here, with the govt deciding to reconsider the purchase (not of fighters, but of the type). My guess is the F-35 will again come out on top and be purchased anyway; I think the govt knows this, and will make a political point on it (prove the opposition and the lefties wrong).

Here's a good article on the controversy:

F-35 is still the comparative best option

[Aidan]

Zulu is entirely correct. The F-35B has a central lift fan, driven by a 'power coupling' from the engine, a thrust vectored rear nozzle, and two under wing 'roll posts' which vent bypass air from the turbofan.

The lift fan is a major pain though, it's heavy, it takes up space in the airframe that could be used for fuel (and thus this variant has shorter legs), and it has taken a lot of work to get it to work properly. Apparently most of the delays in the programme have been due to this variant, which makes sense. On paper at least the 'A' and 'C' models are far more impressive aircraft - the 35C in particular as a strike aircraft. I know we've been through this before, with people who know a lot more about it than I do, but it still strikes me that the RN will regret getting stuck with the 35B.

[Goldie fish]

What is the current status. I've lost track. CATOBAR or VSTOL?

[Jetjock]

STOVL, a lesser F35 operationally with quite a few sacrifices. Without a carrier borne tanker capability, it is much more range limited and will force the RN to operate under a land based tanker umbrella or position the carrier group closer to shore. Fine for a Falklands type op though. Lower g loading limits and no internal gun. The QEII class are more than adequately sized for CATOBAR ops. They should have stuck with the C variant.

[Pure Hover]

Hmm... so many people were betting on the F-35 being a lemon... we have our own controversy here, with the govt deciding to reconsider the purchase (not of fighters, but of the type). My guess is the F-35 will again come out on top and be purchased anyway; I think the govt knows this, and will make a political point on it (prove the opposition and the lefties wrong).

Here's a good article on the controversy:

F-35 is still the comparative best option

Interesting article - it seems that the Hornet is not as cheap as it's made up to be and the CATOBAR option has led to cost runaways. At least the F-35B can give the RN a cross-deck capabilty should the Italians and Spanish decide to go ahead with their purchases. Looks like a total of 48 aircraft is being proposed. Be interesting to see how the breakdown goes between RAF & RN.

[Aidan]

is much more range limited and will force the RN to operate under a land based tanker umbrella or position the carrier group closer to shore

All of which is actually very important in terms of interoperability with the USN (worth noting that even the USMC is buying a mix of B and C models) - this means that the UK is relegating itself to a second tier player yet again, just like with Harriers (despite splashing out on carriers plenty big enough for CATOBAR). Also, the 'B' model can only carry a more limited set of munitions - it can't carry munitions in the 2000lb class internally, only as far as 1000lb. That isn't so important for Iraq or Afghanistan right now when GBU 39s are ideal, but in a situation where you have to go after large (or buried) targets, it really matters.

[Jungle]

All variants of the F-35 are moving ahead:

Lockheed gets up to $4.9 billion in further F-35 funding

Lockheed Martin Corp on Friday was awarded up to $4.9 billion in additional funding for its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the Pentagon announced on Friday, providing a significant end-of-year boost in orders for the largest U.S. defense contractor.
The U.S. Defense Department said it had reached agreement with Lockheed on a preliminary contract valued at up to $3.68 billion for 31 F-35s in a sixth batch of planes to be built for the U.S. military, with details to be finalized the coming year.
It also awarded Lockheed additional separate contracts valued at up to $1.2 billion for spare parts and sustainment of the new radar-evading warplane.

...

Lockheed is developing the single-seat, single-engine plane for the U.S. military and eight international partners -- Britain, Australia, Italy, Canada, Turkey, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, which helped pay for the plane's development.
The production contract announced on Friday includes 18 conventional takeoff and landing jets for the Air Force, six short takeoff and landing variants for the Marine Corps; and seven carrier variants for the Navy.
It does not include three F-35 fighters to be purchased by Italy and two to be purchased by Australia as part of the sixth lot of low-rate, initial production.
Those agreements will be negotiated next year, said Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the Pentagon's F-35 program office.

[Jungle]

A former Canadian F-18 pilot's opinion on the F-35 (presumably the "A" version):

Canuck test pilot says fighter jets have 50 per cent further range than CF-18s

Lockheed Martin test pilot Billie Flynn, a former Canadian Forces CF-18 pilot who commanded a Canadian squadron on NORAD duty in northern Alberta, flew NATO combat missions over Kosovo in 1999, and is married to Canadian astronaut Julie Payette, told The Hill Times the F-35 will outperform Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18 fighters in “dramatic” fashion when it comes to Arctic sovereignty and security patrols—a key aspect in the debate over a new Canadian fighter as the polar ice cap recedes under climate warming.

“As the commanding officer, I was responsible for a NORAD fighter squadron, I was responsible for going to the Arctic with my guys, Arctic sovereignty is a huge part of the future, every Canadian gets that,” said the former Canadian Forces lieutenant-colonel, sitting at a boardroom table in Lockheed Martin Canada’s Ottawa office.

“What does that do?” he said, pointing to an F-35 model on the table.

“It does 50 per cent further in range than the CF-18s that I flew, that my squadron flew going to the Arctic. It allows you to go the Arctic by yourself, not refuel, it allows you to go patrol over the Arctic and stay over station longer. You go further, you stay on station longer than any airplane, by a dramatic amount, 50 per cent further than I ever could go in a CF-18, that’s dramatic, that’s measurable, everyone gets it, because the expanse of the Arctic is on a scale that only a Canadian can understand,” said Mr. Flynn.

“What do you see? In the CF-18 what you have is a little radar that looks ahead, and you have the equivalent of a fuzz buster, a radar warning receiver,” Mr. Flynn said, answering questions about criticism over F-35 capabilities.

“What you see with the sensors in this airplane, I see, in my F-35 in Texas, to the horizon, everything as far as the eye can see is what I see and sense, and by the way, no one can see me doing that,” he said in reference to F-35 stealth capability.

“I get to patrol the Arctic, I go further, I stay longer, I see dramatically further at all sorts of spectrums, more than other airplane could, and no one knows I’m there. To me this is entirely a story about Arctic sovereignty,” Mr. Flynn said.