Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Succeeds in First Vertical Landing

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Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Succeeds in First Vertical Landing
UNITED STATES - 18 MARCH 2010

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. --- A supersonic Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter rode more than 41,000 pounds of thrust to a vertical landing today for the first time, confirming its required ability to land in confined areas both ashore and afloat.

"Today's vertical landing onto a 95-foot square pad showed that we have the thrust and the control to maneuver accurately both in free air and in the descent through ground effect," said F-35 Lead STOVL Pilot Graham Tomlinson.

Tomlinson performed an 80-knot (93 miles per hour) short takeoff from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., at 1:09 p.m. EDT. About 13 minutes into the flight, he positioned the aircraft 150 feet above the airfield, where he commanded the F-35 to hover for approximately one minute then descend to the runway.

"The low workload in the cockpit contrasted sharply with legacy short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) platforms," said Tomlinson, a retired Royal Air Force fighter pilot and a BAE Systems employee since 1986. "Together with the work already completed for slow-speed handling and landings, this provides a robust platform to expand the fleet's STOVL capabilities."

Robert J. Stevens, Lockheed Martin chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Today's vertical landing of the F-35 BF-1 aircraft was a vivid demonstration of innovative technology that will serve the global security needs of the U.S. and its allies for decades to come. I am extremely proud of the F-35 team for their dedication, service and performance in achieving this major milestone for the program."

Doug Pearson, Lockheed Martin vice president of F-35 Test and Verification, said, "The successful first vertical landing today met our test objectives and demonstrates the F-35B's capacity to operate from a very small area at sea or on shore – a unique capability for a supersonic, stealth fighter. This is the first of many such tests to fully define the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) characteristics of the world's most capable 5th generation fighter. We will routinely conduct vertical landings and short takeoffs to further expand the operational flight envelope for the F-35B."

The aircraft in today's test, known as BF-1, is one of three F-35B STOVL jets currently undergoing flight trials at the Patuxent River test site. It is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan engine driving a counter-rotating Rolls-Royce LiftFan®. The shaft-driven LiftFan system, which includes a Rolls-Royce three-bearing swivel duct that vectors engine thrust and under-wing roll ducts that provide lateral stability, produces more than 41,000 pounds of vertical lift. The F135 is the most powerful engine ever flown in a fighter aircraft.

The F-35B will replace U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B STOVL fighters and F/A-18 strike fighters. The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and the Italian Air Force and Navy will employ the F-35B as well. With its short takeoff and vertical landing capability, the F-35B will enable allied forces to conduct operations from small ships and unprepared fields, enabling expeditionary operations around the globe.

The F-35 program is using the Lockheed Martin-developed Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) for maintenance actions, spares tracking and technical data support. ALIS is part of the F-35's innovative sustainment architecture monitored by the F-35 Autonomic Logistics Global Sustainment (ALGS) Operations Center in Fort Worth. The early deployment of the F-35 net-enabled logistics system to be used by all nine partner countries helps ensure the F-35's smooth transition to operational status, and is a key enabler for lower life cycle costs.

The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations, advanced sustainment, and lower operational and support costs. Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. Two separate, interchangeable F-35 engines are under development: the Pratt & Whitney F135 and the GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team F136.


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Source: Lockheed Martin Company

 

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UFO

 

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Rolls-Royce Liftsystem Demos Success in 1st Vertical Landing
UNITED STATES - 19 MARCH 2010

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, successfully demonstrated the capabilities of its unique LiftSystem(tm) technology with the first vertical landing of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II aircraft.

The successful flight test took place yesterday, Thursday 18 March, at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland landing at 1.21pm Eastern Daylight Time (5.21pm GMT).

The LiftSystem is the technology that enables short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) operations for F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.

Dan Korte, Rolls-Royce, President - Defence, said: "Rolls-Royce is proud of the role it plays in the F-35 program, bringing innovative STOVL technology through the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem(r). The success of this first vertical landing marks a significant accomplishment for the program and demonstrates the unique capabilities for which the LiftSystem was designed: smooth transition from forward flight to vertical landing mode.

"Rolls-Royce is a pioneer in the area of vertical lift propulsion system technology, first with the unique Harrier jump-jet and now with its next generation, through the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. The LiftSystem is a major advance in aerospace technology that will play a key part in the history's largest fighter aircraft program", he said.


Source : Rolls-Royce Plc

 

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VSI’s F-35 Lightning Gen II Helmet Mounted Display System achieves first flight
UNITED STATES - 22 MARCH 2010

SAN JOSE, Calif. | Vision Systems International, LLC (VSI), a leader in advanced Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) technology, announced the successful first flight of the F-35 Gen II Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) on the F-35B Lightning II Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing (STOVL) jet.

VSI is currently performing under a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. for the delivery of the F-35 Gen II helmet displays and aircraft ship-sets in support of the F-35 Lightning II HMDS program. VSI has also received contracts for production tooling and initial funding for the Pilot Fit Facility Standup at Eglin Air Force Base for the HMDS program.

"The most advanced helmet mounted display system in the world flew a very successful flight on the F-35," said VSI President Drew Brugal. "The Gen II system is the culmination of extensive VSI R&D. It provides the F-35 aviator unmatched situational awareness presenting symbology and pilot selectable augmented reality in a wide field-of-view display format. The "virtual" Head-Up Display (HUD) presented by the HMD replaces traditional HUD systems and gives the pilot precise, stable symbology in the forward cone and a seamless transition to mission critical symbology in the remaining field-of-regard."

The F-35 Gen II HMDS displays biocular video and symbology information on the helmet visor, providing pilots with all information necessary to execute both day and night missions under a single integrated configuration. The system enables pilots to accurately cue onboard weapons and sensors using the helmet display.

The HMD also allows the aircraft systems to alert pilots of potential threats and hazards, significantly improving situational awareness. Advanced night imagery is provided by the helmet mounted night camera and aircraft Distributed Aperture System (DAS). The F-35 Gen II HMDS's accuracy and very low latency enables the F-35 to be the first front line tactical aircraft in decades to eliminate the traditional HUD. The HMDS is the "virtual" HUD of the aircraft.


Source: Rockwell Collins, Inc.

 

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U.S. Marines Stand Up First F-35B Lightning II Squadron
UNITED STATES - 5 APRIL 2010

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --- A small squadron of Marines marched toward the future of military aviation, April 2. Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, currently only 37-Marines strong, stood up as the Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning II training squadron in a ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The squadron is the nation’s first training squadron for the new Joint Strike Fighter, making the ceremony not only a first for the Marine Corps, but for the entire Department of Defense.

"We are beginning a new chapter of Marine aviation," said Lt. Col. James B. Wellons, VMFAT-501’s commanding officer. "This is an honor and an opportunity of a lifetime."

The Joint Strike Fighter program was developed as a means to replace several Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft with a single jet. The Marine Corps’ variant, the F-35B, will be the only version with short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities.

The F-35B is slated to replace the AV-8B Harrier and F/A-18 Hornet fighter and attack aircraft currently in the Corps’ inventory. The Lightning II is also proposed to have electronic countermeasures capabilities like those of the EA-6B Prowler.

"We have held out on buying another attack aircraft for 11 years," said Maj. Shawn M. Basco, VMFAT-501’s executive officer. "We have been waiting for the F-35B to come along and provide us with an all-STOVL force. We will have the capabilities of a Harrier, some organic in a Prowler and some effects and capabilities of a Hornet in one aircraft."

Over the course of the next year, the training squadron is scheduled to receive its first of 20 F-35B Lightning II aircraft, allowing hands-on training for pilots and maintainers.

But, senior Marine leaders on hand for the ceremony said they are confident the squadron’s Marines will be up to the task.

"There are great challenges ahead, but like the introduction of a lot of other aircraft, we will get through this," said Maj. Gen. James F. Flock, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s commanding general. "We have hard-charging Marines who make up VMFAT-501, and they are the Marines that are going to train the future pilots and maintainers of our Joint Strike Fighter squadrons."

Though VMFAT-501 may be America’s first training squadron for the F-35 aircraft, the squadron itself is steeped in history.

The squadron’s legacy comes from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 451, which was originally formed during World War II as an F4U Corsair squadron. The squadron saw combat in Japan in 1945, and later flew F-4 Phantoms over Vietnam in the 1960s.

The "Warlords" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 451 were retired in 1997. The squadron was reactivated at the National Museum of Naval Aviation aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., April 1, to be re-designated as VMFAT-501.

It is military tradition to re-designate retired squadrons instead of creating new ones so that history may be continued rather than lost.

"This generation of Warlords is standing on the shoulders of the ones before it," said Gen. James F. Amos, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. "They will make history in many ways by flying an aircraft most people have never seen."

Squadron staff members salute during the playing of the National Anthem as part of the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 stand-up ceremony April 2 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The 501st becomes the first Marine JSF squadron and also the first Marine squadron embedded into a Air Force wing. The band came from Cherry Point, N.C., to perform at the ceremony.