F-35 Joint Strike Fighter News, Videos and pics Thread

Air Force Brat

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Coming Soon to the US Navy's Aircraft Carriers: The F-35C Stealth Fighter
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View attachment 30986

Nice picture illustrating the flaps and "flapperons", note the ailerons droop and perform as flaps, while retaining their differential deflections function as ailerons at the same time to roll the aircraft about its roll axis. Neat, and provides lots of extra lift.
 
somehow can't see how many times they hit in F-35 Sets Weapons Test Mission Record with New Software
The F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base, California, completed 25 weapons test missions over the course of a month, JPO officials announced today. These missions included 12 weapons delivery accuracy tests and 13 weapons separation tests on at least five different weapons systems, officials said.

This blows up the previous record of three WDA tests in a month, set in Nov. 2014 while testing the 2B software block.

Testing took place on the Sea Test Range, a Pacific Ocean test area near Point Mugu Naval Air Station California, the Navy’s China Lake Weapons Range in California, and the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, officials said.

In all, 30 munitions were dropped or fired from weapons including the Joint Direct Attack Munition, AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, GPS-guided 250-pound Small Diameter Bomb, AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air heat-seeking missile, and GPS and laser-guided munition, officials said in the announcement. In five of the test events, multiple bombs or missiles were fired.

“The WDAs rely on the full capability of the F-35 — multiple sensors, navigation, weapons envelope, mission planning, data links and inter-agency range scheduling — all working in sequence to put steel on target,” Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, program executive office for the F-35, said in a statement. “This was a tremendous effort by the F-35 test team. They surged and worked seven days a week for more than a month to expend 30 ordnance and advance weapons testing. This testing has moved us that much closer to delivering the full F-35 capability to warfighters within the next two years.”

To date, two out of the Defense Department’s three F-35 variants have declared initial operational capability: the Marine Corps’ F-35B and the Air Force’s F-35A. The Navy is expected to declare IOC for its carrier-variant F-35C with the block 3F software near the end of 2018.
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EDIT
so I now checked the official
F-35 Lightning II Surges Forward with Record Breaking Weapons Test Successes
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F-35 Joint Program Office // August 22, 2016



The F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) at Edwards Air Force Base, California, recently completed 25 missions comprising of 12 Weapons Delivery Accuracy (WDA) and 13 Weapon Separation Tests as part of a month-long weapon’s firing test surge. Historically, WDAs take place once a month given the myriad of coordination required. The highest number previously accomplished in a month was three, which occured in November of 2014 during 2B software testing.

These successful test events — performed using the F-35’s newest block 3F software — demonstrated the accuracy of the F-35s. Five of the test events featured dropping multiple weapons. The F-35 weapons test team was given exclusive use of the Sea Test Range, an instrumented Pacific Ocean test area off the central coast near Point Mugu Naval Air Station, California. Tests were also conducted at the U.S. Navy’s China Lake Weapons Range, California, and the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

During this unprecedented surge period, a total of 30 weapons were dropped or fired, including the Joint Direct Attack Munition, AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, GPS-guided 250-pound Small Diameter Bomb and AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air heat-seeking missile.

“The WDAs rely on the full capability of the F-35 — multiple sensors, navigation, weapons envelope, mission planning, data links and inter-agency range scheduling — all working in sequence to put steel on target,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 Program Executive Officer. “This was a tremendous effort by the F-35 test team. They surged and worked seven days a week for more than a month to expend 30 ordnance and advance weapons testing. This testing has moved us that much closer to delivering the full F-35 capability to warfighters within the next two years.”
inside, the accuracy described just in words, not numbers LOL
 
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Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Coming Soon to the US Navy's Aircraft Carriers: The F-35C Stealth Fighter
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Well, she may not be operational yet...but she has already come to the decks of three different CVNs now...and done better than expected each time.

With seven aircraft being used in the latest Developmental Testing (DT).

f35C-DTIII-48.jpg f35C-DTIII-07.jpg f35C-DTIII-03.jpg f35C-DTIII-16.jpg f35C-DTIII-02.jpg f35C-DTIII-10.jpg

...and she's a keeper!
 
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FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Nice picture illustrating the flaps and "flapperons", note the ailerons droop and perform as flaps, while retaining their differential deflections function as ailerons at the same time to roll the aircraft about its roll axis. Neat, and provides lots of extra lift.
And where are all these naysayers, hidden or do sh.. up :mad::)

Interesting détails there i put only these points :

Report: F-35Cs Descend in Mass on the USS George Washington During DT-III.

However, for a couple of days the two
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“Salty Dogs”
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s from
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were joined by 5 F-35Cs from VFA-101 “Grim Reapers” out of Eglin AFB. The 7 F-35Cs on the deck of the carrier represented the largest carrier contingent of F-35Cs to date.

DT-III includes validation of the aircraft’s flying capabilities with full internal and external stores (up to 4 GBU-12s and two
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on external hard points); handling tests with asymmetrical loads; testing for maximum weight launches (up to 65,000 lbs) at minimum power; evaluating all of these in a variety of wind and sea states.

12 VFA-101 pilots with 5 F-35Cs completed their CQs in just over 1.5 days. As Capt. James Christie of VFA-101 described, that includes 10 landings and 2 touch and gos each. A total of 120 cats, 120 traps and 24 touch and goes. Simultaneously the 5 VX-23 pilots performed their CQs. F-35Cs were all over the carriers deck, moving, landing, and launching – much like I would imagine an operational tempo.

There were instances of hot refueling, with pilot changes during refuel and the aircraft cycling back for more CQs.
As VX-23 F-35C pilot Ted “Dutch” Dyckman explained, everybody completed their CQs faster than with the
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or
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. The additional fuel on the F-35C, the ease of landing due to Delta Flight Path mode, along with aircraft reliability all played a part in the accelerated CQs.
The innovative “Delta Flight Path” mode that is engaged on approach alters the F-35C control laws, setting auto throttles and maintaining the optimal 3 degree glide slope to landing. This approach makes landing on the carrier much easier, and pilots were hitting the desired 3 wire virtually 100% of the time.

Delta Flight Path utilizes the flaps to add or decrease lift during approach to maintain the glide slope. Observers can see a tremendous amount of flap movement during the aircrafts approach to the deck.
These movements are all controlled by the computer to provide the pilot what they want – stable glideslope to the deck. The
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and
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control laws are being modified to feature the same Delta Flight path in an initiative called “Magic Carpet.”

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Woow
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
Looks like Ole Mr. Chuck Yeager here is not a big fan of stealth fighters for some reason.o_O Don't get me wrong I like the guy and respect him a lot.

[QUOTE
Lifestyle
US Air Force legend General Chuck Yeager weighs in on the F-22 and the F-35
US_Air_Force_legend_General-2c020483fa0f43ef0b6046179800b0e0
(US Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, retired, preparing to board an F-15D Eagle from the 65th Aggressor Squadron in 2012 at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.DVIDSHUB)

You may know that
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holds the distinction of being the first man to travel faster than the speed of sound, is one of the force's most prolific test pilots, and is
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— but did you know
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?

The legendary general recently weighed in on the
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. Here's what he said:

US_Air_Force_legend_General-8f11b0a3370ae356b847e963a1d755cd
(Chuck Yeager)
"Waste of money."

This is a far cry from the current Air Force brass'
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of the "
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" aircraft. But with the aircraft costing about $100 million each, and with the highest price tag ever associated with developing a weapons system, perhaps Yeager thinks the money would be better spent on training pilots and maintaining a more traditional Air Force.

So I thought to ask him what he thought about
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the
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, the world's first fifth-generation aircraft. While the F-22 costs are also very high, it functions a bit more like a traditional fighter jet than the multirole F-35, which I thought maybe Yeager would appreciate. So what did he think?

US_Air_Force_legend_General-d4c1d06c81ad4678c9a5b54221706918
(Chuck Yeagar)

So there you have it. According to perhaps the greatest living military pilot, the entire fifth generation of US Air Force jets are a waste of money.

Better luck next time.

NOW WATCH:
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][/QUOTE]
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
Chuck was raised at a different time when a fighter jockey was a seat of your pants individual who HAD to be able to understand and respond to the very feel of his aircraft in order to get it to do the things he needed it to do in order to win battles, in order to get it to meet its performance criteria, etc., etc.

Now things are far different with the fly by wire and computer control that are all a necessary part of having the new high tech aircraft being able to even perform the things that they do today...things that would have been impossible without those innovations...but which also reduce the need for the types of seat of your pants capabilities that were a must in an F-8 or an F-4...sometimes even if you wanted to survive.

I respect General Yeager...but I also know that aircraft design and capabilities have moved past his era.

So, in this case, and with all due respect to General Yeager who was one of the absolute best fighter/aircraft pilot of his age... I certainly do not agree that aircraft like the F-22 and the F-35 are a waist of money.

They are absolutely essential and clearly our potential adversaries feel the same because those who can possibly build such aircraft, are pulling out all of the stops to try and do so. They see what it will mean not to have them in the types of stealthy, sensor fusion, battles that might develop.
 
Last edited:

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
Looks like Ole Mr. Chuck Yeager here is not a big fan of stealth fighters for some reason.o_O Don't get me wrong I like the guy and respect him a lot.

[QUOTE
Lifestyle
US Air Force legend General Chuck Yeager weighs in on the F-22 and the F-35
US_Air_Force_legend_General-2c020483fa0f43ef0b6046179800b0e0
(US Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, retired, preparing to board an F-15D Eagle from the 65th Aggressor Squadron in 2012 at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.DVIDSHUB)

You may know that
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
holds the distinction of being the first man to travel faster than the speed of sound, is one of the force's most prolific test pilots, and is
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
— but did you know
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
?

The legendary general recently weighed in on the
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
. Here's what he said:

US_Air_Force_legend_General-8f11b0a3370ae356b847e963a1d755cd
(Chuck Yeager)
"Waste of money."

This is a far cry from the current Air Force brass'
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
of the "
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
" aircraft. But with the aircraft costing about $100 million each, and with the highest price tag ever associated with developing a weapons system, perhaps Yeager thinks the money would be better spent on training pilots and maintaining a more traditional Air Force.

So I thought to ask him what he thought about
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
the
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, the world's first fifth-generation aircraft. While the F-22 costs are also very high, it functions a bit more like a traditional fighter jet than the multirole F-35, which I thought maybe Yeager would appreciate. So what did he think?

US_Air_Force_legend_General-d4c1d06c81ad4678c9a5b54221706918
(Chuck Yeagar)

So there you have it. According to perhaps the greatest living military pilot, the entire fifth generation of US Air Force jets are a waste of money.

Better luck next time.

NOW WATCH:
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]
[/QUOT\\\\\\\
\


Chuck was an incredibly gifted individual in the physical realm, smart, and an arrogant SOB, he's still an arrogant SOB, just not to damn smart. Mr. Yeager was an incredible fighter pilot, and later test pilot, but Mr. Yeager was not the brightest bulb in the Air Force Pack, did I mention he was arrogant, LOL!

I wish my old man was around, he would tell you the truth about guys like Chuck, the USAF became the greatest service because of smart men like my Dad, humble, gracious, loved their country, and built the USAF by brute force and main strength. Honorable, talented, smart, excellent flying skills, willing to put in the hard work to become the very best, my Dad exemplified that every day of his living breathing life, his friends were the same.

I remember two of my Dad's enlisted flight engineers, John Daly, and Jim Dotson, neither "ever" called my Dad by his first name, they both were flight engineers on the School birds at Sewart AFB, Tenn. Like my Dad they were smart, humble, go-getters, that my Dad placed his "ultimate confidence and respect in", although they called my Dad "Major", later "Col", (he was a Lt Col. or as one of his good friends told him a "telephone Col".

My Dad "never" Lorded it over another man, but he was confident in who he was, and what he could do with "any" airplane, he was a "PILOT's Pilot, he was the squadron "check pilot", meaning that when the boss needed a "check ride" the old man did the honors, and he did it with tact, courtesy, and honesty. NO POLITICS, NO KRAP, Mr. Yeager is full of same.

I don't really want to take away anything from Gen Yeager, he is an incredible airman, and an incredible "stick and rudder man", but to call the F-22 a waste of money??? You could likely put almost any "jet jockey, in an F-22, and Mr. Yeager in any other fighter aircraft on the planet, and that hard working jet jockey, Male or Female, would kick Mr. Yeager's arrogant AXX!
 
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