What follows is a roundup of news about the F-35 that was generated around the RIAT and the Farnborough airshows.
AIN reported on the major announcements and briefings last week, both online and in the printed editions of Farnborough Airshow News.
BAE Systems revealed that a team of software engineers numbering hundreds at its Samlesbury site in the UK had made a significant contribution to the Lightning II’s Block 3i software update. This is the version on jets currently being delivered. The British team contributed to the fuel management system, on-board vehicle systems, structural health management, and navigation and cockpit displays. Block 3i is the penultimate software version in the F-35 development contract, and amounts to 89percent of the code required for full operational capability. That comes with the ultimate Block 3F version, which has 8 million lines of code and is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.
Samlesbury is also the site that produces the aft fuselage and vertical and horizontal tails for the F-35. BAE announced a major expansion to the machining facility here, to accommodate increased F-35 production rates.
Turkish missile house Rocketsan signed a new agreement with Lockheed Martin at Farnborough to proceed with the integration of its SOM-J Stand-Off Missile into the F-35’s internal weapons bay. LM’s Missile and Fire Control division will promote the weapon to other F-35 users beyond Turkey, and for external carriage by other warplanes. But last weekend’s failed military coup in Turkey has inevitably led to speculation about that country’s future status as an F-35 partner. Its first two aircraft are now being built.
Canada’s status as an F-35 partner was the subject of much speculation. It has not ordered any aircraft, and a new government there has re-opened an evaluation of alternatives. Lockheed Martin F-35 program manager Jeff Babione predictably said that Canada risks losing F-35 work already placed with industry there, if it does not commit to the stealth jet.
Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC), gave a glowing report on the F-35’s performance during a recent operational deployment. Seven jets were detached from ACC’s latest F-35A wing at Hill AFB to Mountain Home AFB for air combat and strike missions. All 88 planned sorties were accomplished, no F-35 was defeated in engagements with F-15s and F-16s acting as adversaries, and 15 out of 16 JDAM bombs dropped hit their targets. “I’m a huge fan; this aircraft is going to change the way we fight,” said Carlisle.
U.S. Marine Corps aviation chief Lt. Gen. Jon Davis reported on the first Red Flag exercise in which his F-35Bs had participated. He described a four-ship mission that successfully attacked a “very difficult air defense target” before supporting some troops-in-contact. Military commanders and program officials told AIN that the F-35 is meeting all its low-observability requirements, the details of which remain classified.
