US Marines Prepare for Joint Strike Fighter

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Joint Strike Fighter Lands Closer to Corps’ Air Arsenal
UNITED STATES - 16 NOVEMBER 2009

WASHINGTON --- At approximately 1 p.m., the Marine Corps came one step closer to adding the Joint Strike Fighter F-35B STOVL (Short Take-Off Vertical Landing) variant to its arsenal. The test plane, BF-1, flew from Fort Worth, Texas, to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., where it will undergo additional integrated developmental testing as directed by Joint Strike Fighter Program Executive Officer Maj. Gen. David Heinz.

“Getting BF-1 in the hands of the wonderful men and women at Naval Air Station Patuxent River is a big deal for the Marine Corps," said Lt. Gen. George J. Trautman III, deputy commandant for aviation. “I'm anxious to have our engineers, our test pilots, and our operators get their hands on this jet, and then see what we can do to turn test points and sorties at a rapid rate during the coming months.”

While at Patuxent River, the first set of testing for BF-1 is to have it flying shorter take-off runs and slower landings that will eventually culminate in the plane’s first vertical landing. Further testing will include flying with different weight loads and ordnance pay loads, and work-ups to shipboard operations. In total, five F-35B and three F-35C (the carrier variant) Joint Strike Fighters will be delivered to Patuxent River to enable the flight test operations required to deliver this aircraft to the warfighter.

In April 2010, Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) will officially stand up as part of the Joint Integrated Training Center located at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The work done at Patuxent River will enable the Marine Corps to start training Marine pilots and maintainers at this time next year. Additionally, the Marine Corps is scheduled to have its first operational squadron in 2012.

The STOVL F-35B Lightning II will replace three variants of Marine Corps combat aircraft (F/A-18, AV-8B and EA-6B), improves operational capabilities, provides flexible basing options ashore and afloat, and reduces aviation training and maintenance costs across the Corps.

This 5th generation multi-role fighter has significant advantages over the Marine Corps’ current tactical fixed-wing squadrons. The STOVL JSF will carry more ordnance with greater range than the F/A-18 Hornet, operate from austere environments like the AV-8B Harrier, and possess electronic warfare technology and capability like the EA-6B Prowler.

 

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Lockheed Martin F-35B Flies To Maryland Test Site, Prepares For Vertical Landings
UNITED STATES - 16 NOVEMBER 2009

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md., November 16th, 2009 -- The first Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35B Lightning II short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) stealth fighter arrived Sunday at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., where it will conduct its first hovers and vertical landings. The ferry flight initiates a sequence of F-35 arrivals at Patuxent River this year and next.

Piloted by Lockheed Martin F-35 Chief Test Pilot Jon Beesley, the F-35B flew from Fort Worth, Texas, to Patuxent River by way of Dobbins Air Force Base in Georgia. Beesley landed on the Patuxent runway Sunday at 12:46 p.m. EST.

"We have high confidence in the capabilities of this aircraft, and we fully expect that it will meet or exceed the expectations of our customers," said Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 program general manager. "At Patuxent River, this aircraft will continue the process of validating our revolutionary STOVL propulsion system through a series of short takeoffs, hovers and vertical landings."

The aircraft will be supported at Patuxent River by the F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) and will be monitored by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Sustainment Operations Center in Fort Worth. Known as BF-1, the aircraft is the first F-35 to be sustained by ALIS – the worldwide support system that will monitor the prognostics and health of F-35s around the globe to ensure mission readiness.

The F-35B will replace U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B STOVL fighters, F/A-18 strike fighters and EA-6B electronic attack aircraft. The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force and Royal Navy and the Italian Air Force and Navy will also employ the F-35B.

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.




Source: Lockheed Martin