F-35 Lightning II

ighter squadrons rarely remain at the by Lt Col Steve Gillette, was given its initial Ten F-35B aircraft all upgraded to Group 1 forefront of their armed service without a operational capability (IOC) declaration for the modification standard and configured with Block succession of outstanding achievements fifth-generation jump jet. The Green Knights are 2B software. Three of the key modifications made Fin peace time or war. Marine Fighter assigned to Marine Air Group 13 (MAG-13) based to the squadron’s Low Rate Initial Production Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) ‘Green Knights’ at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. (LRIP) lot 4 aircraft were the FS496 bulkhead is one such unit. During its 64-year service The IOC criteria were outlined in a letter (structural), auxiliary air inlet door (capability) and career the Green Knights have operated around issued by the then Deputy Commandant of installation of the onboard inert gas generation the world from locations as diverse as Okinawa, Aviation, Lieutenant General Robert Schmidle, in system for protection against lightning (safety). All Japan and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. On September June 2013. of the key modifications were made to overcome 12, 2012 VMFA-121 became the first squadron Meeting the IOC criteria depended on having restrictions placed on the aircraft. in the US Marine Corps fleet to start transition the following requirements on the squadron at The latest compartmentalised version of ALIS to the F-35B Lightning II. Just 1,037 days later its home station: (Autonomic Logistics Information System) carried the squadron, commanded in pelican cases for deployment and known as V2. Complete skill and mission set training for eight of the squadron’s pilots to US Marine Corps level 2000 (skill based) and 3000 (mission

42 based) training-in-readiness codes. The codes certify a pilot’s ability to conduct the missions required for IOC; armed reconnaissance, active air defence, close-air support, off ensive and defensive counter air. Missions Of the ten aircraft required for the IOC declaration, three were built in LRIP lot 5 (modifi ed by depot workers at Yuma) and seven in LRIP lot 4 (two modifi ed by the Driving Ogden Air Logistics Centre at Hill Air Force Base, Utah and fi ve by the Fleet Support Center East at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina). The fi rst aircraft left Yuma for the depot in the fourth quarter of 2014. When F-35A serial number 10-5015 (c/n AF-27) suffered an engine fire on take-off from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida on June 23, 2014 the entire fleet was grounded until the agencies involved in the investigation had a clear Nails understanding of what took place in the arm of the fan module fractured. This fracture F135-PW-400 engine. occurred on the R3 forward integral arm and The mishap was caused when the was caused by high cycle fatigue following a rub third stage integrally event on the aft plate seal of the integral arm. bladed rotor (R3) The aft plate seal experienced heat damage from forward the rub against a strip of foam material attached integral to the second stage stator. For VMFA-121, the grounding prevented its deployment to the UK to participate in last year’s Royal International Air Tattoo and the Farnborough International Airshow. Naval Air Systems Command, the fl ight clearance authority for the F-35B variant, restricted the

Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

43 F-35 Lightning II

This shot of F-35B BuNo 168721/‘VK03’ clearly shows the extent of serrated panels on the top side of the fi fth-generation jump jet’s design. Dan Stijovich

G envelope and provided quick and long-term I need to make sure this airplane and my schools of the US Marine Corps and US Navy fi xes to the problem. The quick fi x involved fl ying squadron is trained to do just that. In addition, for respectively. Air Force OT&E and Marine Corps each aircraft in a specifi c fl ight profi le to burn the Marine Corps there are a host of other things OT&E refer to the 31st Test and Evaluation off a very thin layer inside the R3 to prevent the the F-35 can do in support of either the MAGTF Squadron based at Edwards Air Force Base, arm from rubbing: the cause of the engine fi re in [Marine Air Ground Task Force] or the joint force California and Marine Operational and Evaluation AF-27. All of VMFA-121’s aircraft fl ew the profi le commander’s mission, whether that’s the air-to-air Squadron 22 (VMX-22) ‘Argonauts’ based at Yuma. which gave them an aerodynamic envelope of role, escorting MV-22s or armed reconnaissance. Lt Col Gillette quantifi ed 121’s work and the 5.5 G for training. We need to be able to do all those things well. level of exchange: “We happen to have 17 pilots The long-term fi x requires installation of a re- That’s the same for the fi rst F-35B squadron as who regularly fl y the missions. Other units in the designed fan module with an internal pre-trenched any other Harrier, Hornet unit.” F-35 programme are doing tactical employment groove. This engineering fi x was installed at the When the author asked Lt Col Gillette if VMFA- but on a smaller scale. The OT&E units have depots in all ten aircraft required for IOC. 121 conducts any of the mission sets diff erently fewer aircraft assigned so the number of sorties because of the unique capabilities of the F-35B, each one generates is fewer.” Why TacAir he replied: “The manner in which you execute US Marine Corps TacAir (tactical aviation) any given mission order doesn’t change but the Block 2B primarily exists for one reason: to ensure manner in which you operate your aircraft can The fi nal version of Block 2B software (known as whatever the ground commander’s mission, he change based on its capabilities. We’re working 2BR5) loaded on VMFA-121’s aircraft for the IOC has responsive and eff ective close-air support at with MAWTS-1, the Air Force Weapons School, work-up and operational readiness inspection his beck and call when needed. Top Gun, Air Force OT&E [operational test and improved the mission systems capability and During a visit to Yuma prior to the IOC evaluation] and Marine Corps OT&E to get stability throughout the extended fl ight envelope declaration, Lt Col Steve Gillette, VMFA-121’s those tactical recommendations. We see how and provided better sensor fusion. commanding offi cer, told the author: “The core of recommendations work and provide feedback to Major Greg Summa, VMFA-121’s then TacAir is to drive nails with weapons in the name the respective organisations.” executive offi cer, said the ability to share data of what the ground commander needs you to do. Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron between aircraft and see what another pilot is As we get ready to declare IOC, fi rst and foremost 1 (MAWTS-1) and Top Gun are the weapons seeing in his airplane without having to make any descriptive communication call translates F-35B Lightning IIs on the fl ight into tactical decision making at a much quicker deck of the USS Wasp during rate. “The kill chain, the ability to get tagged-ID OT I on May 20. Cpl Anne Henry/ and then target that chain or loop, has sped-up US Marine Corps exponentially because of that,” he said. The advent of Block 2BR5 has benefi ted the combat capability of the aircraft in several ways. The pilot is not dependent on voice communications nor does he have to spend time determining the battle space environment and how to address a specifi c tactical problem. Maj Summa said the challenge is getting aircrew to recognise how they were going to make tactical decisions based off increased capabilities. “Our training is an iterative process of learning how to do it as a single ship then as a section [two] with lots of information fl owing back and forth between aircraft. That takes our training to another level. “Simultaneously the aerodynamic envelope, both speed and G, has greatly improved. We can fl y supersonically and to do things the airplane was built to do. They have been signed off and are part of our basic operating procedures.” Lt Col Gillette said: “Confi gured with Block 2B software gives situational awareness, sensor capability and lethality on the battlefi eld that is head and shoulders above anything that the Marine Corps currently fl ies, hands down, unequivocally. Are there glitches in the software where we see anomalies, certainly, but it will continue to improve.”

44 F-35 Lightning II

US Navy plane handlers move an F-35B around the hangar deck of USS Wasp. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

Flight Operations With Block 2B, the squadron was able to increase its training envelope; specifi cally in close air support (CAS) and armed reconnaissance and prove its ability to execute the missions and to do so more aggressively if required. “Previously the pilot had to be very aware of the airplane’s limits. Now you have a little bit more of a grace period to go to the increased G and speed limits,” said Maj Summa. Block 2B’s envelope also enabled VMFA-121 pilots to conduct much more training in long- range and short-range air-to-air engagements. In the second Weapons and Tactics Instructor course (WTI) staged by MAWTS-1 at Yuma last October, VMFA-121 participated in six of the biggest missions. Some were fl own over the Nevada Test and Training Range with US Air Force types like F-16s and F-22s, and others with AV-8B Harriers, F/A-18 Hornets and EA-6B Prowlers in the local Yuma range. Confi gured to Block 2 standard, the F-35Bs were able to dependent on voice communication; now target prohibitive interference. What does that mean? undertake strike co-ordination by identifying information is data linked to the other aircraft.” It means the F-35B can provide CAS in a battle targets and passing their co-ordinates to Close air support is a sub-set of armed space with a surface-to-air missile system Harriers and Hornets. reconnaissance and a primary mission for all prohibiting aircraft such as the Harrier or Hornet Maj Summa said: “The sensors showed so Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons executed from entering. Maj Summa explained: “I can much information at altitude we provided critical in accordance with Joint Close Air Support take a couple of Block 2B airplanes into that fi lling information for areas within the battle standards. VMFA-121 can employ either the environment, fi nd, notify, and if required, negate space where the C3 [command, control and 500lb GBU-12 laser-guided bomb or the 1,000lb the threat for continued F-35 operations but also communications] agency or ground-based air GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munitions for the for the Harriers and Hornets because the threat defence systems could not. But because of our necessary fi re support. has been notifi ed or degraded to a level that it’s software limitations at the time we were using Much has been written about the F-35’s no longer prohibitive. voice communication. With Block 2B we are inability to conduct the CAS mission but much “The ability to map a target area using fully integrated in the digital picture and not less about what it brings to the fi ght: primarily synthetic aperture radar, save the map and be able to review it while airborne and speak with the Joint Terminal Air Controller to advise him what you can see, that’s a big thing. But the ability to precisely target diff erent objects, points or buildings by scoping down to look at something and use the targeting system to gain the ID required is also very benefi cial. “The information available to you [for close air support] is at a much higher level and it’s ergonomically and tactically easier to use. We’ve completed this kind of targeting by day, by night and in an urban environment. But the diff erence is this airplane gives you the ability to go into areas where once we might have taken hours or days just to shape the environment for close air su pport,” said Maj Summa. Digital interoperability with the ground and aviation elements simultaneously seeing a common operational picture is the next logical step for close air support and a huge push Some of the marines who maintained the six F-35Bs embarked aboard the USS Wasp during OT I pose for a group photo on the hangar deck. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations for Marine aviation across the MAGTF. The weapons school, MAWTS-1, is running tactical

45 F-35 Lightning II

demonstrations and evaluations specifi cally focused on increasing the kill chain to making the tempo as fast as possible with the highest fi delity of information. and glitches “It’s one thing to sense the environment but with the original version it’s another thing to sense the environment with during the last three years. Today, Marines actions, extremely high fi delity. And that’s something assigned to 121 provide advice to both the Joint look at health that the F-35 has and we’ve seen with the Program Offi ce and Lockheed Martin about reporting codes so if an introduction of Block 2B,” opined Maj Summa. required improvements within ALIS. error has popped up, it’ll tell them how to MSgt Brian Erline, VMFA-121’s Aviation troubleshoot and provide what’s the most likely Work-up to the Wasp Logistics Information Management and Support and the least likely cause. That’s very helpful In preparation to embark on the USS Wasp for Chief, told AIR International: “In my time on the because the maintainer might be presented Operational Test Phase One at sea (OT I) and the squadron many of our recommendations have with four diff erent problems indicated by the IOC declaration, VMFA-121 pilots used the local been incorporated into the system, mainly from symptom,” said MSgt Erline. auxiliary landing fi eld (ALF) to conduct day and the administrator’s standpoint, but also the The ALIS has a graphical user interface with night FCLPs (fi eld carrier landing practice). maintainers’.” pre-defi ned options for the maintainer to select The ALF is built in the desert near Yuma and On a squadron such as VMFA-121 the from drop-down menus. Typing details into the laid out like an LHD-class amphibious assault ALIS suite comprises software and hardware. system is only required in some instances. ship with a superstructure, deck and a full suite Maintainers use diff erent applications to log Before releasing the aircraft to its pilot for of landing aids, including lenses and height maintenance activities. One application called fl ying, the plane captain screens the jet by position indicators. Joint Technical Data is incorporated on the reading the work orders and checking its health Maj Summa explained the FCLP procedures servers, laptops and portable maintenance aids and readiness. The pilot, who has authority to used at the facility: “Each pilot has an overhead (PMAs). When connected to the aircraft, a PMA sign for the aircraft, also screens the aircraft time at the ALF. They come into the break, device provides all of the technical orders with electronically before they go to the fl ight line to convert into mode 4 fl ight and enter a hover step-by-step instructions on how to perform the conduct a walk around pre-fl ight inspection. abeam ‘the ship’. They side step over the deck maintenance task. The US Marine Corps conducts aircraft and the Landing Signals Offi cer clears them “They can log their time and maintenance maintenance at three levels: organisational to land on one of the spots at which point the pilot performs a vertical landing. Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 had fuel truck hot pits set up at the ALF for refuelling the airplanes ready for a short take-off to re-enter the pattern for further FCLPs before returning to Yuma.” ALIS on the Squadron VMFA-121 installed its fi rst version of the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) in August 2012. Three years later the unit installed the hardware for the second version of the Standard Operating Unit referred to as SOU V2 and its second software upgrade version 2.01.0. The SOU V2 is a modular, deployable system with each component weighing 200lb or less. The V2 has updated hardware, considerably more processing power and storage space than An F-35B Lightning II prepares to taxi on the fl ight deck of USS Wasp for night operations on May 22 earlier versions. during OT I. Cpl Anne Henry/US Marine Corps VMFA-121’s Marines uncovered many faults

46 F-35 Lightning II

(O), intermediate (I) and depot. Typically, O level maintenance is the Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22) ‘Argonauts’ is equipped with four F-35B one undertaken on a squadron. MSgt Erline Lightning IIs including aircraft BuNo 168718/‘MV56’. The aircraft is seen on take-off from Edwards Air said on VMFA-121 it’s referred to as O plus Force Base, California. Dan Stijovich because some maintenance functions have been integrated into the squadron to avoid dependency on outside agencies. squadron’s records remain on its SOU at Yuma for disaster recovery. “Marine Aviation Logistic Squadron 13 and are archived at the CPE at Eglin. And, because When VMFA-121 transferred some of its [MALS-13] supports us for I level tasks such as the aircraft is only ever in one place at a time, its aircraft to the depot for Group 1 modifi cations batteries, tyres and ejection seats and uses ALIS data remains on the squadron’s SOU to ensure late last year they also had to transfer the to do so,” said MSgt Erline. maintenance actions are not double tapped. aircraft electronically from the squadron’s The ALIS has a tiered architecture. Every All maintenance records are retained on SOU to the depot’s SOU. The data packages squadron has its own SOU. Each nation has a the SOU forever, including the user accounts comprised only megabytes despite containing CPE (Country Point of Entry). The US CPE is at of individual maintainers. When a maintainer two years of fl ight and maintenance records. Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Lockheed Martin leaves the Marine Corps their user account is Once the jet is electronically transferred, has the ALOU (Autonomic Logistics Operating retained on the SOU because it is directly tied to the new operator picks up where the previous Unit) at its facility in Fort Worth, Texas. maintenance actions conducted on the jets. All operator left off . They log all their maintenance As VMFA-121’s SOU accumulates data, the records are backed-up both on-site and off -site actions on their ALIS system. The data is captured as a package which is seamlessly transferred back to a squadron with the aircraft. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations “It’s a very automated process,” said MSgt Erline. The US Marine Corps’ end goal is to run the ALIS organically as an independent organisation without the support of Lockheed Martin. That’s the biggest near-term test given the complexity of some aspects of the system. One future concept under consideration by the US Marine Corps is installation of a CPE at its regional support centres. The decisions on how such a centre is staff ed and whether it will be a US-only or a multi- nation facility have yet to be made. In theory, the Fleet Regional Support Center East at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina could support the US Marine Corps fl eet. Operational Test Phase One OT I was the fi rst operational training evolution that required all of the agencies and squadrons

47 F-35 Lightning II

six pilots to land aboard the USS Wasp, conduct an engine running refuel and then take-off to start carrier qualifi cation (CQ). Only two pilots completed part of their CQ requirements before sunset because their arrival was later in the day than originally planned. The entire cadre of ten pilots (six that fl ew aboard and four others that sailed with the ship) completed their CQ fl ying during the next three days. Major Walsh told AIR International: “We wanted to fl y as many missions and generate as many hours as we could. That involved either a two or four ship launching, landing, going to the hot pits, launching out again before maintenance F-35B BuNo 168717/‘VK15’ of VMFA-121 slowly moves into the hover at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, caught them [a term for servicing the aircraft Arizona before making a vertical landing on one of the hover pads. Dan Stijovich between fl ights] and launched them on a second wave of a similar construct.” to be ready to go to the ship. For VMFA-121 air refuelling by a US Air Force KC-10 Extender. All missions fl own in OT I were operationally that was a big challenge to undertake while At Beaufort the 121 detachment was supported orientated. They involved integration with the concurrently training its other pilots to meet the by VMFAT-501, the resident F-35B training ship and supported training-in-readiness codes requirements for IOC. The second big challenge squadron. for IOC. Some involved air-to-air intercepts was the transfer of four aircraft from 121 and USS Wasp pulled out of Naval Base Norfolk, working with the ship’s personnel who served as two from VMFAT-501, with their data, onto a Virginia on the morning of May 18 for an operating air intercept controllers. common server on board the USS Wasp. area off the east coast. Once established, the Maj Walsh explained: “Operations escalated Major Walsh VMFA-121’s Operations Offi cer squadrons at Beaufort were called to launch the from one or two-ship intercepts into air led the four-ship of aircraft from Yuma to Marine fi rst two F-35Bs. Two other sections were launched interdiction where we were searching for targets Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina. at 30-minute intervals thereafter. to attack. We fl ew defensive counter air missions Their transcontinental fl ight was supported with The original embarkation plan required the staged for us to defend the ship. We worked with the ship’s controllers against Red Air F-35s that were trying to attack it. “Because of the training we focussed on tactical intercepts in the defensive counter air and air interdiction sorties. The cadre of pilots also conducted some air-to-surface training mainly out at sea but some overland. We also fl ew simulated attacks on notional enemy shipping which we had to fi nd based on information provided by the ship’s intelligence department. The last of 110 tactical training missions was fl own on May 28 and all six aircraft recovered to Beaufort the following day. Operational Readiness Inspection An F-35B Lightning II takes off from the fl ight During the operational readiness inspection (ORI) deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp directed by HQ US Marine Corps, VMFA-121 fl ew on May 25. Mass Communication Specialist at least one sortie in each of the key mission sets Rawad Madanat/US Navy required to meet the IOC criteria and included

All ten F-35B pilots who fl ew missions from the USS Wasp during OT I pose for a group photo on May 21. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

48 F-35 Lightning II

embarking on the USS Wasp to demonstrate the US Navy fl ight deck crew use a tractor to push a ability to successfully fl y off the ship. trailer loaded with an F135 engine core module Unsurprisingly dropping ordnance was also (stowed in a purpose-built crate) to an MV-22 a requirement but had only been undertaken Osprey. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations previously by the F-35 test units. “To meet the requirements all of our pilots dropped inert and live 1,000lb GBU-32 JDAMs and 500lb GBU-12 laser-guided bombs. This was one of the last big objectives we had to hit before we declared we were ready for the ORI. We were not going to say we’re ready for combat until we’d done end-to-end checks and successful live ordnance releases in an operational environment.” The squadron practised guiding weapons to a target in its high fi delity simulators and completed many simulated drops in the aircraft before the fi rst live drops. The ordnance department completed training events learning Sailors and Marines remove an engine core how to assemble the weapon with wiring, fusing module for the F-35B Lightning II aircraft from an MV-22 Osprey aboard the USS Wasp. Mass and pins, how to pre-fl ight it and all get familiar Communication Specialist Elizabeth Vlahos/US Navy with the diff erent nuances of uploading and downloading weapons. The squadron was able to train ten pilots for the ORI: two more than the prescribed minimum. The ability to fl y each mission set in sections (two aircraft) and divisions (four) had to be demonstrated in Yuma’s simulators before the ORI started. Each one; assault support escort, armed reconnaissance, close air support, air interdiction and defensive counter air was subsequently fl own during the inspection. The latter two were fl own against the F-5N Tiger- equipped Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (VMFT-401) ‘Snipers’ also based at Yuma. Major Walsh commended the work put into VMFA-121’s IOC declaration by its maintenance department: “That’s testament to all the Marines downstairs and their hard work fi guring out all the procedures and overcoming the diffi culties

Marines align an Australian-built engine removal and installation trailer to demonstrate the procedures required to remove an F135 engine. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

49 F-35 Lightning II

we had to get through. How they generated “The slope at which we learn further other, and the data connectivity worked to all the missions, turned them faster [between effi ciencies will start to shallow out but will enable parts to be sourced. We were able to missions], achieving functionality with the ALIS certainly continue for the next ten years at least.” reach back to Lockheed Martin and Pratt & and handling all of the software upgrades Whitney to get parts shipped out to the ship on given to us from the test community was a Led by the Argonauts an MV-22.” monumental job.” Col Rauenhorst Commander of Marine The MV-22s, provided by VMX-22, were on call Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Ongoing Ops (VMX-22) ‘Argonauts’ was the lead unit for OT Carolina as required. They would fl y to the Since the IOC declaration, VMFA-121’s day-to- I. “Our overall contract was to determine how forward operating base where the parts were day training has ratcheted up to further build the the F-35 would integrate on board the ship for waiting for delivery out to the ship to replicate combat capability. “IOC was very much about the fi rst time and what lessons from land-based an operationally realistic scenario. The largest our unit and training. Now we want to integrate operations we could use on an expeditionary item delivered to the USS Wasp by an MV-22 with the Marine Corps at large by taking the amphibious ship. was an F135 engine core module: the largest squadron on detachment to exercise working OT I was the fi rst time Marines and UK component of Pratt & Whitney’s Joint Strike with the deployed ALIS server and operate F-35s personnel assigned to VMFAT-501 had Fighter power plant. from an austere location with a little less support maintained F-35Bs at sea. They were supported An MV-22 fl ew to Naval Air Station Patuxent than the ship. Ultimately the squadron has to be by Marine Aviation Logistics Squadrons 13 River in Maryland to collect a purpose-built cart ready to move to Japan in 2017,” said Maj Walsh. (MALS-13) and MALS-31. designed for loading the engine onto an Osprey; Lt Col Gillette said the real success story They worked on the aircraft on the fl ight deck loading and unloading an engine module was a of 121 is with the Marines who work in the and in the hangar bay to determine if the Joint key objective for OT I. maintenance department. “There are countless Technical Data (JTD) were written correctly and Marines successfully offl oaded the engine examples where they have determined a task to validate the chock and chain procedures on module from the MV-22 and delivered it to the is ineffi cient when done the prescribed way. the deck. store down in the hangar deck. The module was One example is the intermediate operating “Did we have the appropriate chains on board subsequently used to demonstrate the ability to service; the procedures followed to re- the ship to include the pad eyes and chaining replace an F135 engine. release the aircraft for fl ight. We re-wrote the points on the aircraft to support high sea states? Col Rauenhorst said: “Our overall objective procedures line-by-line, submitted them up to How do you conduct maintenance when the was to evaluate the amount of hangar space the Joint Program Offi ce. A few months later aircraft is chained down? We jacked up an F-35, required to do an engine change. We lined up they informed us the new procedures were made sure it was chained down and conducted the trailer [reference to the engine removal and approved. The Joint Technical Data which we maintenance. installation trailer built by Australian company completed for the IOS was adopted and is “We needed to make sure the ALIS system and Marand] and worked through the Joint now a multi-service, multi-national procedure. the upgrades made to the ship’s network were Technical Data instructions Performing an IOS once took four and a half aligned and for changing an engine hours. It now takes less than two. talking to on board the ship. We “Another example is restoring the coatings each didn’t change an engine and the LO [low observable] characteristics of a panel after its removal for replacing a part. Eighteen months ago that would take us days, sometimes weeks. Based on their effi ciencies and improved techniques it now takes a couple of days to break into a panel and restore the LO confi guration. For the exact same result, the radar cross sections of the airplanes are identical.

An F-35B Lighting II lands on the fl ight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) on May 18 at the start of OT I. Mass Communica- tion Specialist Seaman Zhiwei Tan/US Navy

50 F-35 Lightning II

because we didn’t want to take a mission- to a science. The lessons learned will be ordnance. That wasn’t straightforward because capable aircraft down. incorporated into LHD flight operations for the the aircraft has to be chocked and chained to “We successfully demonstrated the ability to fleet,” said Col Rauenhorst. the flight deck. We had to evaluate whether remove the engine module out of its container, Based on the simulator training undertaken the chains impeded, in any way, the loading place it back on the skid and then move it back before OT I started, the former Harrier and process,” he noted. to the Osprey for loading and onward delivery Hornet pilots involved thought they would safely back to Pax River. It went pretty much according reduce the recovery interval time to the ship. VMX-22 at Edwards to plan.” The aircraft’s automation and flight control The Argonauts has its headquarters at Marine As the boss of the Marine Corps’ lead unit systems take into account the ship’s course, Corps Air Station Yuma, but maintains an for OT I, Col Rauenhorst said the six pilots who speed, heading, and the winds over the deck, F-35B detachment at Edwards Air Force Base landed aboard the Wasp for the first time made which made landing an F-35B a lot easier than an in California as part of the Joint Operational the procedure look easy. “By the time we were AV-8B Harrier or a Hornet on board the carrier. Test Team (JOTT). The first Marines assigned launching a division [four jets] the pilots were Wind conditions were varied during OT I, but to the det arrived at Edwards in June 2010 and returning into the overhead and recovering remained within the confines of the F-35B’s initially worked with Lockheed Martin and Pratt aircraft in intervals of 60 to 70 seconds. That current standard operating procedures as & Whitney while embedded in US Air Force was a demonstration of efficiency and co- cleared by Naval Air Systems Command. developmental test unit, the 461st Flight Test ordination between the pilots and the flight deck Col Rauenhorst said: “Once all the pilots and Squadron. crew and is almost on par with flight operations landing signal officers (LSOs) had qualified to The first F-35B assigned to VMX-22 arrived at conducted on the super carriers.” conduct day and night carrier landings we began Edwards last October. The squadron currently As they progressed through single-, two- and launching two-ship sections for 1 v 1 intercepts has four F-35Bs assigned, some of which are four-ship recoveries they made meticulous notes and ship defence. We then repeated those currently undergoing modification to Block 3F about the best procedures. “By events with four-ship divisions.” configuration. the end of the at sea Another objective was day and night The preponderance of test events completed period the pilots ordnance-loading procedures. This involved at Edwards to date have been part of the overall and flight deck VMX-22’s ordnance team, working with the F-35 operational test plan conducted by the crew had USS Wasp’s ordnance-handling officer, loading multi-national JOTT. it down bombs and missiles on to an aircraft out on the “On the Marine Corp side we’re planning flight deck. “We completed those evolutions to complete an expeditionary deployment to to validate the Joint Technical Data the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center for loading at Twentynine Palms in California,” said Col Rauenhorst. Mark Ayton

51 F-35 Lightning II Cpl Anne Henry/US Marine Corps All Aboard

52 F-35 Lightning II All Aboard ith less than two years to go before Objectives Deck Familiarisation the UK’s fi rst F-35B Lightning II lands The objectives set for OT I by Headquarters, US Lieutenant Neil Harris and his deputy, Chief on the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth Marine Corps included... Petty Offi cer (Aircraft Handling) Scott Iszard, are W(R 08), the Royal Navy’s preparations • Demonstrating and assessing day and looking forward to joining the QE for sea trials. for this historic event get ever closer to reality night fl ight operations in various aircraft They have key roles to play. Lt Harris will serve when the 70,000-tonne fl agship commences its confi gurations. as the Flight Deck Offi cer (FDO) and CPO Iszard sea trials at the start of 2016. • Digital interoperability between aircraft and as the Captain of the Flight Deck (CFD). Personnel assigned to the Royal Naval ship systems, F-35B landing signal offi cers’ launch CPO Iszard has a wealth of fl ight deck School of Flight Deck Operations (RNSFDO) at and recovery software. experience gathered during his 19-year career Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, Cornwall, are • Day and night weapons loading. aboard HMS Ark Royal, HMS Illustrious, HMS undergoing continuous training on the dummy • All aspects of maintenance, logistics and Invincible and other multi-spot decks including deck at the base. sustainment support of the F-35B while deployed US carriers. The school embarked on a long-lead specialist at sea, including engine and main lift fan changes Lt Harris, an experienced Royal Navy skills exchange programme with the US Navy in and deck operating procedures. helicopter engineer, said: “OT I tested the US 2010 whereby groups of up to ten individuals In addition, US Navy personnel and the UK Marine Corps’ ability to embark six aircraft and are assigned to Nimitz-class super carriers and team worked with Naval Sea Systems Command support and sustain that footprint for a period of amphibious assault ships. The programme to assess specifi c modifi cations made to the time prior to the type’s IOC. The purpose of our has helped personnel to build their experience USS Wasp. One notable example was the involvement was to familiarise ourselves with the and enabled the school to update its standard coating applied to the deck and how it would jet, to consider American procedures and to take operating procedures (SOPs) for deck handling. cope with the intense heat produced by the away best practice, bearing in mind that US large The primary aim is to ensure best practice is aircraft’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine. This deck platforms operate an entirely diff erent way applied when HMS Queen Elizabeth (QE) sets sail was particularly relevant to the UK because to how we’ve historically operated.” and the F-35B Lightning II is embarked. a decision on deck coating for the Queen This included assessing how easily the aircraft One offi cer at the RNSFDO told AIR Elizabeth has yet to be made. can be moved around the fl ight deck and within International: “Best practice involves co- An important evaluation undertaken on May the hangar, what locations it can be parked and ordination between the school and the ship and 20 involved delivering an F135 forward engine how to secure it. we must ensure we are teaching them what they module weighing around 4,500lb (2,041kg) to Ahead of OT I the Royal Navy had two primary need us to teach rather than someone’s best the ship on an MV-22B Osprey. It took a team of concerns: noise and jet blast or e-fl ux. According idea. We then assist them in developing their US and UK personnel one hour to successfully to Lt Harris both have largely been resolved, SOPs for the deck.” unload the module from the Osprey’s cargo hold based on the QE’s larger deck and the UK’s SOPs, By March 2015, the Royal Navy had using winch and pulley systems: a good indicator and neither are now considered a problem. OT completed its seventh roulemont (deployment of the Royal Navy’s future type for carrier- I gave Royal Navy personnel an opportunity to of personnel) to the United States, each one onboard-delivery. assess the SOPs in place and determine any lasting about nine months. Perhaps the most important started in mid- May when senior handlers and instructors from the school joined the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) for the Operational Test Phase One at sea (OT I). The Wasp sailed from Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia on May 18 and remained under way off the east coast for an 11-day period during which six F-35Bs drawn from the US Marine Corps’ operational fl eet conducted day and night operations. For the UK personnel onboard, learning to maintain and handle the F-35 on deck was vital. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force maintainers are already embedded in F-35 squadrons at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and Edwards Air Force Base, California. All three locations off er excellent facilities to learn how to maintain the Joint Strike Fighter, but they are all land-based. Sea-based maintenance is more challenging because it involves other physical conditions such as deck motion, space confi nement and the need to move aircraft between the fl ight deck and hangar. A Royal Navy Air Engineering Technician under- takes maintenance in the weapons bay of an F- AIR International spoke to Royal Navy 35B. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations personnel about OT I aboard the USS Wasp.

53 F-35 Lightning II

changes required. “As the aircraft launches, the aircraft handler F-35Bs and rotary-wing aircraft. CPO Iszard, the school’s embarked operations has to take a big stance and protect his face. CPO Iszard recalled aircraft recoveries: “It was training manager, explained: “LHDs [amphibious Personnel will be fully covered and wear impressive watching F-35s land vertically and assault ships] have much larger decks than our protective headgear and goggles. literally turn around within their footprint before CVS and the US approach is more manpower- “In terms of the launch profi le, multiple taxing to their holding spots to be secured by intensive. The QE has a much larger deck than launches will be an extremely controlled handlers. This reduces the time taken to clear the USS Wasp and we will have fewer people on scenario. More likely aircraft will launch one at a the active areas of the deck and the amount of deck and more ‘safe’ areas where the aircraft can time with a safe time gap between them.” deck handling required. transit other than on the main runway. Since OT I the launch profi le practised by the “You don’t need a tractor and tow bar “It was therefore important during OT I to Culdrose-based school involves minor hand to reposition them each time, which was a stand in those positions that our guys will not signal changes to cater for the F-35B. “We’re surprise. We’ll need someone on standby in be in to assess the worst case scenario; for 95% there,” said Lt Harris. the event of an emergency but the aircraft is so example, adjacent to the spot landing position as manoeuvrable, unlike a Harrier which has turning an F-35 lands vertically. US personnel stand in Noise restrictions. this position.” The F-35 test programme has been proactive “On a Wasp-class carrier, you have to taxi a in collecting and assessing noise data and the Harrier in slightly, spin it around on the deck’s E-flux environmental impact this may have. port elevator [which protrudes out] and use that E-fl ux generated by the F135 engine is Noise level testing featured prominently as your guide to taxi them into position. The substantial and can potentially create issues during OT I with microphones placed around the F-35 can turn on a sixpence and more or less for fl ight deck personnel and other operational fl ight deck, in the hangar deck and other places taxi directly to its parking position to be secured aircraft in terms of FOD (foreign object damage). aboard the USS Wasp. with chocks and chains before being prepared “When the F-35 launched, we stood 50, 100, A noise measurement report dated October for the next fl ight.” 150 and 200 feet [13, 26, 39 and 52m] behind 28, 2014 based on test results collected at According to Royal Navy personnel the towing it to feel the engine’s force and to assess noise Edwards Air Force Base starting in September process for the F-35 is the same as the Harrier, levels and potential FOD,” confi rmed CPO Iszard. 2013 concluded the F-35B’s noise level is comprising three ground locks: one for each E-fl ux, although substantial, should not be an comparable to a Harrier: 87dB v 85dB on outrigger and one for the nose wheel. issue on the QE because the aircraft’s wing-tip approach and 110dB v 105dB on take-off . Unlike the Harrier, the F-35 has no safety line (referred to as the fan line by the CPO Iszard opined: “We stood at various depressurisation pin, which means handlers Americans) is further away from the launch area positions including adjacent to landing spots simply attach the tow line and move it as they than the 30 feet (10m) distance on the USS Wasp. 7 and 9. Bearing in mind we had upgraded would any other fi xed-wing aircraft. The wing-tip safety line adjacent to the launch hearing protection which worked fi ne, we felt the Securing points are diff erent. The US Marine area is the position used by US Navy fl ight deck noise was not vastly diff erent from the Harrier Corps uses a system of wheel chocks and up personnel to give launch signals to pilots. which was good news.” to 36 chains to secure the aircraft in storm

US Navy plane handlers and aircraft handling offi cers move an F-35B around the hangar deck of USS Wasp. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

“Our SOPs mitigate the impact of placing Deck Handling conditions. Currently the UK uses the same personnel in safer positions during landing The ease with which aircraft can be moved chocks and will determine the optimum lashing and departure, but this policy will be reviewed around the deck is critical in effi cient fl ight deck confi guration. prior to commencing first of class fixed- management. wing trials. When we operated the Harrier Despite space restrictions aboard USS Wasp Deck Coating everyone, including fire fighting personnel, the F-35 did not disappoint. The QE’s deck Coatings applied to the fl ight deck came under would be positioned a spot and a half forward covers an area of almost 170,000 square feet considerable scrutiny during OT I, especially of the landing jet with nobody closer,” (16,000m2), has a runway running it’s entire during launches, and vertical landings on spots confirmed CPO Iszard. length and multiple landing spots for both 7 and 9.

54 F-35 Lightning II

US Navy safety observers watch an F135 forward engine module being loaded onto an MV-22B Osprey for delivery back to shore. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

Heat and downdraft generated by the F135 resilient to water and foam,” said Lt Harris. the period following the first of class fixed- engine is substantial so a long-term solution OT I proved beneficial for comparing and wing trials. must be found to reduce wear and tear and contrasting deck fire fighting procedures, as Royal Navy personnel embarked on the USS resolve scorching. The Royal Navy currently Lt Harris explained: “The US system includes Wasp achieved all their objectives during OT I: uses a non-oxidising anti-slip deck coating mobile fire fighting vehicles and hydrants plus they gained greater insight into the F-35 and the called Camrex, but a new coating must be dedicated handlers and a dedicated ‘crash way it operates and handles on deck at sea. found to cope with the intense heat generated bosun’ positioned to manage a deck fire or They are now working toward next year’s by the engine. crash event.” fi rst of class sea trials at training performance A new heat-resistant deck coating called The ship’s company will grow in stages standard. Thermion was applied to spot 9 and used for towards the full complement due to be in Once they reach operational performance vertical landings for OT I. Thermion’s properties place by the summer of 2016. The manning standard aboard the QE, the ship’s company will remain unknown although a recent press process is staggered to avoid changing the be up and running. “It will be great to get back to release said it was made of bonded ceramic and ship’s full complement every two to three fi xed-wing operations aboard a ship. It’s a new aluminium. years. The Royal Navy must maintain stability ship, a new aircraft and everyone is refreshed The coating gives the same baseline anti-skid in core areas, especially the top deck, for by it,” concluded Lt Harris. Ian Harding characteristics as other coatings and shows few signs of heat stress or scorching. The UK has evaluated a thermal metallic spray coating probably with similar properties to Thermion and a fi nal decision on its use is expected once evaluation is complete. First of Class Sea Trials The initial cadre of Royal Navy personnel is scheduled to join the QE in January 2016 to run the SOPs and prepare the ship. The ship’s crew will have around six months to run the SOPs before the fi rst of class rotary-wing trials begin during the summer of 2016. The F-35 is currently expected to fl y aboard the QE to start the fi rst of class fi xed-wing trials in 2018. Before then, the Royal Navy will receive four F-35 replicas known as Ground Instructional Aids (GIAs), one of which will go to the QE for training. Similar in size and weight, the GIAs will enable the school to get up to speed on all aspects of aircraft handling including proving fi re-fi ghting Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations and deck crash procedures. “The replicas are

55 F-35 Lightning II

aval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland effects (E3) testing on the Pax River flight line Paveway IVs from F-35B BF-03 over the Atlantic is home to many organisations, the while loaded with ASRAAM and Paveway IV test Test Range. The inert bombs safely separated primary one being Naval Air Systems articles. The E3 testing demonstrated that the from the internal weapons bays (the first from NCommand. Within this major command test weapons and aircraft systems were not the left bay and the second from the right) and is the Naval Test Wing Atlantic and its assigned affected by electromagnetic interference and made history in the process. It was the first squadrons. All fast jet types are operated by Air had no compatibility problems allowing the flight release from an F-35 of a Paveway IV and the Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) ‘Salty clearance to be released. first partner nation weapon to be dropped. Dogs’ including both naval versions of the Joint The ASRAAM test articles used are known as Further releases of Paveway IV will take place Strike Fighter which are flown by members of the Dummy Air Training Missiles and the Paveway IVs later this year from external stations, followed next F-35 Integrated Test Force. The tempo of testing were Ballistic Standard Test Vehicles. year by weapon delivery accuracy tests: the official over the past year has remained high. The ITF’s For the first four flights, BF-02 was configured term for striking targets on a range. A test location fleet of nine aircraft, five F-35Bs and four F-35Cs, with ASRAAMs on the outboard pylons only, has yet to be decided but is likely to be Edwards Air has undertaken carrier trials, high angle-of-attack, and for the remaining five flights Paveway IV Force Base in California. asymmetric loads, the first ski jump launches and was on each inboard and intermediate pylon This year an executive review board signed separation testing of UK-specific weapons. and an ASRAAM on each outboard pylon. The off an environmental test plan on April 17 which test articles are identical in fit and form to will capture data about the environment that ASRAAM and Paveway IV operational weapons. the ASRAAM missile and Paveway IV bomb On November 21 a joint UK test team involving All nine were flutter test flights designed to are exposed to throughout the F-35’s entire personnel from the Royal Air Force, Royal show if the weapons affect the way the aircraft flight envelope. Test results will be used to Navy, BAE Systems, MBDA and Raytheon UK structure responds to high speed: the first step determine whether the weapons will perform to successfully completed initial flutter trials for to integrating both weapons onto the F-35B. specification once released from the aircraft. the ASRAAM air-to-air missiles and Paveway IV The next phase of flutter testing took place in No further work has been carried out with the precision-guided bombs on F-35B Lightning II BF- late December and involved the Paveway IV and ASRAAM missile but initial separation tests flown 02. The nine flights were flown between October empty ASRAAM launchers. from Patuxent River and the first launch are 29 and November 21 at Naval Air Station According to Sqn Ldr Edgell nothing currently planned for next year. Patuxent River, Maryland, by Lockheed Martin’s unexpected came out of the flutter testing F-35 test pilot Billie Flynn and UK test pilot Sqn last winter. Ski Jump Trials Ldr Andy Edgell from the Royal Air Force. Weapon separation tests followed, the first of Her Majesty’s Ship Queen Elizabeth (R 08) is Prior to the first flight, BF-02 underwent which was flown by Sqn Ldr Edgell on June 12. fitted with a ski jump like no other: a new design safety of test electromagnetic environmental The mission involved the release of two inert tailored to be used by very expensive new

56 F-35 Lightning II Salty Dogs & Funky Jets

F-35B BF-04 runs through the wet section of the runway at Edwards Air Force Base during wet runway testing. Tom Reynolds/Lockheed Martin

57 F-35 Lightning II

“There’s a fi ne line between ensuring we have suitable gear loads and fl y away speed,” explained Sqn Ldr Edgell. “We want lots of margin on both of those. To achieve margin for gear loads we need to be slow, i.e. start right at the bottom of the ramp. To achieve margin on minimum fl y away speed we need to start towards the back of the run-up. We blend the two aspects together and meet in the middle to gain the safest launch spot. For the very fi rst sortie, our spotting distance will be conservative and will launch the jet off the end of the ramp straight into a previously fl own fl ight condition.” Such regimes have been fl own several times F-35C CF-03 makes an arrested landing aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) on November 12, 2014 during during short take-off s at the fi eld and STOVL Developmental Test Phase One. Andy Wolfe/Lockheed Martin departures. Sqn Ldr Edgell explained an interesting fact aircraft. Launching a 60,000lb F-35B off a ski launch an F-35B upward and forward with a about the take-off : “You can be lined up three, jump requires some serious maths, engineering greater take-off weight and less end-speed than four, fi ve hundred feet back from the start of the and testing. required for an unassisted horizontal launch ramp and as you slam the throttle forwards, the The F-35B ski jump test campaign should aboard an LHD-class amphibious assault ship, jet doesn’t know it’s about to go up the ski jump. have started in March of this year, but was such as USS Wasp (LHD 1). It waits for certain triggers to alert it to the fact delayed due to brutal sub-zero temperatures The reader may be surprised to learn that the it’s going off the ski jump, at which point its fl ight and snow that blighted Patuxent River at the ski ramp built at Pax River is based on the type control system moves the horizontal tails and time. Aircraft BF-01 was originally assigned to used on the Invincible-class aircraft carriers which the nozzles into the optimum position. It needs conduct the ski jump events but was unable to is a little bit shorter (50ft) and slightly shallower to hit 45 knots going up the ramp. remain at Pax while the weather improved. It (0.5º) than the ramp on Queen Elizabeth-class “The throttle needs to be above 65% ETR, was already scheduled to deploy to Edwards Air carriers. Sqn Ldr Edgell explained: “The Pax River with 6 degrees of attitude and a pitch rate of 6 Force Base, California to conduct wet runway ramp design process dates back to 2005 but, at degrees per second. At that point it moves all of and crosswind testing. the time, the Queen Elizabeth ramp profi le was the eff ectors into the right place. Bear in mind The test programme comprises two phases, not known. Analysis conducted in 2005 showed the ski jump at Pax is only 150 feet long, so the the fi rst of which eventually began on June we simply needed to use a ramp with a profi le aircraft hits all of those parameters with less 19 when BAE Systems test pilot Peter Wilson that allows us to stay just under the predicted than 100 feet remaining. By the time it goes off conducted the fi rst take-off using the ski jump F-35B ultimate loads and the Invincible-class ramp the edge of the ramp all the surfaces and the at Pax with F-35B BF-04. Sqn Ldr Edgell told AIR achieved this.” nozzles are at the optimum position, the aircraft International: “Phase 1 is a risk-reducyion phase Pax River’s ramp allows the test team to rotates up to the optimum pitch attitude to fl y designed to highlight any signifi cant hardware or make adjustments for diff erent profi les and away. It’s pretty clever stuff .” software updates that may be required prior to encompass everything below the ultimate loads Sqn Ldr Edgell described the launch process: commencing the bulk of testing. It comprises 29 of the aircraft. “Though the verifi cation of our “You slam the throttle and guard the stick. There ski-jump launches. models during phases 1 and 2 we can tweak the is no input on the stick required. As the aircraft “Phase 1 will ensure our models and control laws to work off other types of ramp, moves down the tramline of the deck you track predictions are correct. If anything needs none of which are the same,” said Sqn Ldr Edgell. the centre line with your feet, just like any other addressing we can do so in a timely fashion and When the aircraft comes off the end it is carrier deck take-off , but there’s no pitch input then go into the 140-sortie Phase 2.” ballistic and accelerates to the fl y away air speed, required. The jet fl ies away. It’s eff ortless.” The ski jump used on HMS Queen Elizabeth has typically 10-20kts higher than launch speed, and In the event of any kind of malfunction, the a curved leading edge designed to simultaneously therefore reduces ground roll. pilot takes control and manually fl ies off the edge

58 F-35 Lightning II

Sqn Ldr Andy Edgell releases the second of two inert Paveway IVs over the Atlantic Test Range on June 12: the fi rst time Paveway IV had been dropped from an F-35B. Michael Jackson/Lockheed Martin of the ramp, which is why he must guard the Asymmetric Loads Harrier. This airplane [the F-35B] not so much stick during the roll. Major M. Andrew Tacquard, US Marine Corps, – its fl ight control laws deal with asymmetric There is no signifi cant part for the pilot to is the lead government STOVL test pilot with stores. From the pilot’s perspective it’s almost play in the take-off – the result of a design the F-35 ITF at Pax River. He is currently fl ying transparent. The only time you can tell is with philosophy to minimise the pilot’s workload. A test points with asymmetric loads on the a large asymmetric load during the take-off good example is tracking the centreline on a Block 3F-confi gured F-35B. “Everything I’ve roll, which requires use of a little more pedal rolling pitching deck at night. That’s a challenge experienced as far as handling characteristics and track than normal. However, it was not in a Harrier but in the F-35B it’s his only task from mode 1 through to mode 4 in the aircraft objectionable. It was self-correcting, if drifting to so he should do a much better job. The are phenomenal. In the jet it’s almost impossible the left, right pedal would correct it.” administrative burden on the pilot has been to tell how large the asymmetry is and I’ve fl own The test team’s work has involved normal signifi cantly reduced: in this situation to an with 26,000 foot-pounds of asymmetry.” PA (powered approach) speed or mode 1, into eff ortless level. Asymmetric loadings induce rolling moments mode 4 (lower and higher-speed semi jet-borne Phase 2 will introduce crosswinds, external in the aircraft’s structure which are measured in and then jet-borne fl ight modes). stores, asymmetry, minimum performance foot-pounds (ft-lb) or inch-pounds (in-lb). A foot- “We took the jet further than it should ever be (minimum deck) launches from the bottom of the pound is a unit of work or energy transferred taken in normal fl ight operations trying to fi nd ramp, and simulated performance degradation on applying one pound of force (lbf) through a the corners of the fl ight envelope. It was very all to increase the aircraft’s fl ight envelope in displacement of one foot. The corresponding SI diffi cult, almost impossible at times to determine Block 3F confi guration. That’s imperative work unit is the joule. if one side was heavier than the other, but you’d for the UK which will undertake fi rst-in-class “On the Harrier we measured asymmetry in see a little bit of sag here and there. I had to fl ight trials on HMS Queen Elizabeth in the fi nal inch-pounds instead of foot-pounds and it was pay specifi c attention to fl ight parameters to quarter of 2018. obvious when you fl ew asymmetric stores on the determine whether those disturbances actually

BAE Systems test pilot Peter Wilson launches from the Patuxent River ski jump for the fi rst time on June 19 in F-35B BF-04. Andy Wolfe/Lockheed Martin

59 F-35 Lightning II

aff ected the plane at all.” facility simulates the fl ight deck of an LHD-class Maj Tacquard said: “you get what you get [with Major Tacquard says the jet performs nearly amphibious assault ship with similar landing aids respect to weather] at Edwards”. the same whether it’s fl ying with an asymmetric to allow the pilot to fl y normal approaches and “We started off with a 12,000 foot-pound load or not: “You want to go left, you go left; you vertical landings. Maj Tacquard fl ew a series of asymmetry load referred to as AG-12 and want to go right, you go right, without having to missions: one at twilight and two at night. The conducted crosswind short take-off s [STOs] deal with the extra eff ort required in a legacy second night-time sortie included a series of up to a 25 knot crosswind regime, which was aircraft.” landings using the Gen 3 helmet with its night pretty signifi cant. The jet was very well behaved The test campaign is being conducted to clear vision camera. He described the camera of the requiring a little bit of pedal input to track, then the Block 3F envelope for the carriage of large Gen 3 helmet as a “signifi cant improvement” the STO was commanded. Once you’re airborne symmetric and asymmetric external stores. This compared with the one fi tted to the Gen 2 version, it does everything for you. Then we completed is one of the main objectives for the F-35B’s but said that some issues were still present. slow landings and some rolling vertical landings Developmental Test Phase Three at sea (DT III) out to 25 knots of crosswind, which is near to the which is currently scheduled to take place on the Crosswind edge of the envelope. USS Wasp during the fourth quarter of 2016. Maj Tacquard was one of the test pilots who “We conduct a typical STOVL landing, refuel Other DT III objectives involve more mission deployed to Edwards Air Force Base in April to and sit on deck waiting for the winds to match systems testing, specifi cally the Gen 3 helmet, conduct crosswind testing with F-35B BF-01 the criteria. Once the winds are right, we launch the night vision camera and the AAQ-37 to further expand the mode 4 envelope. This and hopefully meet the test objectives on take- Distributed Aperture System. also involved symmetric and asymmetric stores off and another test point on the landing.” Testing at the fi eld started with night time and some tests in a clean wing confi guration. In the early spring, winds at Edwards are STOVL qualifi cations in April. A third phase is likely to take place next year typically from the southwest so the main 04/22 Major Tacquard fl ew other missions at the to complete the test programme: a result of runways are not ideal for crosswinds. Palmdale, expeditionary airfi eld set-up at Pax River. The the weather and not so much the aircraft. As located 40 miles to the southwest of Edwards,

60 F-35 Lightning II

has two runways, both are off set to the direction Asymmetrical stores testing with a GAU-22 gun pod, two GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and two AIM-9X of the prevailing wind and both catch crosswinds. Sidewinder missiles carried by F-35B BF-02 during a sortie from Patuxent River on May 26, 2015. Mi- The runway selected for test is chosen based chael Jackson/Lockheed Martin on the amount of crosswind required. Similarly China Lake, 70 miles to the north, has three rather than semi jet-borne fl ight. programme in 2012 and 2013. runways. The orientation of one is about 90 That was the fi rst vertical landing at Edwards The high-alpha work started in the third degrees off the prevailing winds and is used as and it’s signifi cant because of the fi eld’s high quarter of 2013 with aircraft BF-02 fi tted with a a back-up test site in the event conditions at elevation. Later in the deployment he completed spin ’chute until it was ensured that the aircraft Palmdale don’t meet the criteria. a vertical landing at zero ground speed, which was recovers safely. Test fl ights without the ’chute This spring’s crosswind test programme the fi rst time the F-35B had accomplished a VL at were then fl own to determine its eff ect was fully conducted at Edwards, Palmdale and Naval Air altitude. The jet behaved well according to Maj understood. Further sorties were fl own involving Weapons Station China Lake has increased the Tacquard. intentional departures from controlled fl ight and F-35B’s mode 4 fl ight envelope which will be tail slides. The focus of the campaign during the used in next year’s DT III. But the diff erent kinds High Angle of Attack spring was assessing departure resistance of the of disturbance caused by the ship’s tower, at Another test programme the Pax River-based F-35B and F-35C models. the end and on the edge of the deck, cannot F-35 ITF has undertaken this year involves high Sqn Ldr Edgell described the F-35B as highly be recreated at any of the test sites used in the angle of attack also referred to as high-alpha. departure resistant: “We are really trying to fi nd Mojave desert. Because of the commonality between the F-35A holes in the fl ight control system and saturate In late March Maj Tacquard fl ew aircraft BF-01 and F-35B fewer test points were required for all of the control surfaces so the fl ying quality in jet-borne fl ight at Edwards for the fi rst time. risk reduction purposes on the B-model. The engineers can accurately predict the fl ight He then performed a creeping vertical landing 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air regimes where we might get into trouble. at around 40 knots ground speed in jet-borne Force Base completed an entire high-alpha test “We put the aircraft into certain manoeuvres

61 F-35 Lightning II

Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Levin fl ew F-35C CF-01 loaded with an AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon test vehicle in each weapon bay for the fi rst time on August 27. Dan Wiedmann/Lockheed Martin where we know the surfaces are working as software drop has directly targeted, the fi x is CF-03 will be used for structures testing carrying hard as they can and are potentially saturated. verifi ed in fl ight test. One software drop released external stores in preparation for asymmetric fl ying This demonstrates whether the aircraft is still in the second quarter of this year fi xed an air qualities testing aboard the carrier during DT II. departure resistant, and it is. It has behaved data anomaly encountered during tail slides incredibly well.” which had a direct impact on the high-alpha Wet Runway Testing In late April the test team fl ew a series of testing. If a new software drop is not relevant It’s strange that wet runway testing must be sorties with aircraft BF-02 to evaluate departure to a particular line of testing, such as high angle conducted at Edwards Air Force Base in the resistance with the gear down and intentional of attack, the team generally conducts a single Mojave Desert. Annual rainfall on America’s east departure and departure resistance loaded with regression test fl ight. This involves a handful of coast requires runways to drain away quickly and external pylons, AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and test points to ensure the new software has not does not provide suffi cient time to conduct wet the gun pod designed to house the GAU-22 inadvertently aff ected other fl ight regimes. runway tests. 25mm cannon. These were fl own in up and The main Edwards runway is ideal for wet away and PA modes. Navy Plane runway tests. It has a fl at section that allows a When performing an intentional departure, Cdr Ted Dyckman is a US Navy test pilot assigned sheet of water an eighth of an inch thick and a the test pilot tricks the aircraft by disengaging to the Pax River-based F-35 ITF. He was one of layer of AFFF (aqueous fi lm forming foam, which normal control using a fl ight-test aid. He four F-35C-qualifi ed pilots who conducted DT I is used for fi re fi ghting) to be laid down. This departs the aircraft from controlled fl ight while aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) last November. gives a window of about fi ve minutes when the disengagement is active, then deactivates Aircraft CF-03 is the primary instrumented the runway is wet enough to meet the runway the system to awaken the fl ight controls, and landing gear aircraft used during DT I. Once the condition rating (RCR) criteria. watches it spring into life and recover. two-plane test detachment returned to Naval Air The pilot runs the aircraft up to the wet According to Sqn Ldr Edgell it has excellent Station Patuxent River in late November CF-03 section at which point he applies moderate and very reliable recovery modes. In one fl ight started a test programme designed to gain fl ight braking. Cdr Ted Dyckman explained: “That report he described the automatic pitch rocking clearance for missed-service gear arrestment represents 60% peddle defl ections while recovery mode as aggressively reassuring. landings. With this particular fl ight clearance in tracking down the runway to see how it stops “You’re in absolutely no doubt that the aircraft place, an F-35C can safely recover aboard the to determine anti-skid performance. We have has woken up, has taken control and will fi x the carrier in the event that the landing gear had directional control points that indicate where the situation in a very aggressive manner,” he said. missed a service prior to fl ight. pilot enters the wet section and corrects back to By June all of the high-alpha testing with the Just two arrested landings from an entire centre line from an off set of 20 feet. Block 2B confi guration was complete in advance multi test-point matrix were completed using the “We conduct two verifi cation fl ying points. of the US Marine Corps’ work-up to IOC. Mk7 arresting gear at the Maryland super base. First we fl y and land in the wet section to make The team’s testing continues with Block 3F Activity was curtailed when the aircraft deployed sure there are no directional control issues. The which has involved tail slides and intentional to Edwards Air Force Base, California to support F-35A and the F-35C each use similar types of departures in asymmetric air-to-air weapons the local F-35 ITF followed by wet runway and main tyres but the F-35C’s double nosewheel confi gurations. crosswind testing. confi guration gives slightly better tracking Each new software drop provides fi xes to When CF-03 returned to Pax River in April it performance than its single-wheel stablemates. existing problems and additional capability to started a period of modifi cation to Block 3F standard The team conducted wet runway tests with the aircraft. If there is a fl ight regime the new in preparation for DT II next year. Post-modifi cation, normal fi eld service tyres and carrier surface

62 F-35 Lightning II

Cdr Brick Wilson piloting F-35B BF-04 during air- refuelling testing with an F/A-18F Super Hornet on August 31. Michael Jackson/Lockheed Martin tyres. The latter simulates catapult launches and and stopped in the same distance. section replicating a landing run, conducts the arrested landings back on the ship. Test points were conducted at 60, 90, 110 and braking test and clears the area. The truck re- To prevent carrier surface tyres from rolling on 130 knots using wet sections measuring 2,500, measures the RCR value and records the time the deck because of the side forces applied they 3,000, 4,000 and about 6,000 feet respectively. between the two for an average fi gure. are infl ated to a higher pressure which makes As soon as the RCR meets the test point During the directional test, when the main them track well but hydroplane. They also take (measured by an instrumented truck tracking tyres run over the centre line, the aircraft skids further to stop because the tyre’s surface area down the side of the section to avoid the painted slightly because of the eff ect of reduced friction in contact with the deck is reduced by the higher centre line which would give a very inaccurate on the paint. The test team completed the pressure. The fi eld service tyres also tracked well value) criteria, the pilot runs down the wet trials in mid-April. Mark Ayton

Edwards Air Force Base is one of three locations used by the Pax River-based F-35 ITF for crosswind testing. This shot shows F-35B BF-01 at Edwards on April 3, 2015. Andy Wolfe/Lockheed Martin

63 Power

he F-35 Lightning II is powered by the Pratt & Lift & Whitney F135, the most Tpowerful production jet engine ever made for a fighter. Additionally, the F-35B variant incorporates the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem, which enables the aircraft to perform its unique STOVL-to-supersonic mission. F135 Propulsion System The F135 is a larger-diameter, higher-airflow entering derivative of the company’s F119 engine, which the core to powers the F-22 Raptor. be compressed, The F135 and F119 are both axial-flow mixed with fuel, engines (air goes through the core of the ignited and then engine in a straight line) and they share a ‘highly exhausted as hot gas common core’. to turn the turbine From front to back, these two-spool engines stages and are largely common through the compression produce up system, though the commonality is mainly in the to 28,000lb form of shared engine architecture rather than (124.55kN) common part numbers. of dry Despite their similarities, there are however thrust some crucial differences between the F135 and before the F119. One is that the F135 needs to be able afterburner. to generate up to 43,000lb (191.27kN) of thrust The F135 has a ‘wet’ (with afterburner) for the single-engine F-35, six-stage high-pressure has a two- whereas the F119 provides 35,000lb (155.7kN) compressor (HPC) and, again, stage low-pressure with full afterburner. So the F135 has a larger each stage is a blisk. Some of turbine (LPT) and the F119 a single- inlet diameter (46 inches/1,168mm), larger fan the initial HPC stages are made from stage LPT. This is because, in the F-35B STOVL diameter (50 inches/1,270mm) and a larger titanium but because the airflow becomes aircraft, the low-pressure spool to which the LPT overall engine diameter (51 inches/1,295mm) hotter as it passes through each stage of is attached has to drive not only the fan stages than the F119 to achieve a higher airflow. compression, one or more later HPC stages but also the driveshaft powering the Rolls-Royce Like the F119, the F135 has a three-stage fan are made from nickel-based alloys to withstand LiftFan located behind the cockpit and ahead of (in military engine parlance, the fan is the entire the high air temperature. In conventional F-35 the engine. low-pressure compressor assembly). Each fan flight, air exiting the HPC into the combustor is The LiftFan (one of three major components stage comprises a one-piece integrally-bladed at 28 times the pressure it was when entering of the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem, which provides the rotor (IBR, or ‘blisk’, short for bladed disc, which the fan – and 29 times the pressure when the F-35B’s hover capability) is not engaged while consists of a solid titanium hub with titanium F-35B is in hover mode. in normal forward flight and is, of course, not blades welded onto it. The engine’s single annular combustor present at all in the F-35A CTOL and F-35C CV The first stage blisk has hollow fan blades features removable liners and a series of fuel variants of the Lightning II. However, from the that are fixed to the hub by linear friction nozzles, all housed within a diffuser case. outset, the specification for the F-35’s engine welding and machined to the required The F135 combustor is very similar to that called for ‘tri-variant compatibility’ – the engine dimensions. The second stage blisk has solid in the F119, but features improvements to powering an F-35A is identical to that powering blades that are fixed by the same process. accommodate the appropriate temperature an F-35B or an F-35C. Nevertheless, they are Linear friction welding involves forcing two requirements of the higher-power F135. Overall, designated differently: the F-35A powerplant is pieces of metal together under a very high the cores of the two engines – the core includes the F135-PW-100; the engine for the F-35C is load, vibrating them back and forth to create a the HPC, combustor and HPT – are essentially the F135-PW-400; and the F-35B’s is the F135- frictional load to generate enough heat to weld the same size and since the F135 has to produce PW-600. the two together. more dry power at full thrust than the F119, it is Since the F-35B powerplant needs an extra Aft of the third fan stage the accelerated likely to run hotter than the F119. LPT stage to provide the power necessary to airflow is split, 57% of it going through the While both the F119 and the F135 feature a turn the driveshaft (which, through a clutch fan duct as bypass air and the remaining 43% single-stage high-pressure turbine (HPT), the F135 and gearbox, drives the LiftFan), F135s built to

64 F-35 Lightning II Power

Below: This schematic shows the LiftFan, gearbox, driveshaft, Roll-Posts and roll duct components of the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem. Rolls-Royce An upper titanium blisk fan comprising a hub and 24 hollow blades. Rolls-Royce

& Lift In both engines, outside sections of the exhaust nozzle on the cooling air is F135-PW-600 STOVL version of the engine. taken from Some sections of the fan ducts on the STOVL the bypass engine – particularly at the bottom – are also airfl ow and made from organic matrix composites (OMCs), by bleeding whereas the fan ducts for the F-35A and F-35C air away from engines are made from titanium. Some of the the HPC stages inlet ducting in the aircraft is also made from to cool the HPT and OMC material. LPT stages – probably Another key feature of the F135 is its by means of complex augmentor, or afterburner system. While details have remained hard to come by, the F135 is known to employ multi-zone (probably three-zone) fuel injection aft of the afterburner’s pilot light. These zones inject fuel independently, so that the afterburner does not act in an all-or-nothing way but instead provides a variable range of additional, smoothly transitioning wet thrust at the pilot’s command. Also, like the F119 augmentor, the F135 is stealthy: the designs of the two engines’ augmentors place multi-zone fuel injection into curved vanes which eliminate conventional spray bars and fl ame holders and block the line of networks of tiny sight to the turbine when looking into the engine air channels within their from behind. blades and into the turbine casing, as is the case in The Rolls-Royce LiftSystem commercial turbofans. One of the most remarkable features of the F-35 Counter-rotating Spools, programme is that when the STOVL F-35B is hovering, its propulsion system produces very Ceramics and Augmentors nearly as much thrust without afterburner as the power An important feature of the F135 – which Pratt engine does in forward fl ight with its afterburner other F-35 & Whitney doesn’t talk about much – is that the fully lit. The F-35B’s engine has to produce variants have the engine’s two spools are counter-rotating, like 39,400lb (176kN) of vertical thrust without second LPT stage as well. The engine was those in the F119. Since in some cases spool afterburner in hover mode, while in conventional designed to support the severe STOVL counter-rotation can be used to shape the fl ight it produces 28,000lb (124.55kN) of requirement. For engines powering CTOL direction of core airfl ow as it transitions between dry thrust and 43,000lb (191.27kN) with full F-35As and F-35Cs, the additional turbine the HPT and LPT to improve the overall effi ciency afterburner. stage off ers a substantial extra power margin, of the airfl ow through the engine, this might The F135-powered F-35B relies on two allowing for potential F-35 weight growth. Since have allowed P&W to dispense with one or more systems to achieve the high level of vertical the engine isn’t heavily taxed in many CTOL rows of static stators and vanes in the F135. thrust. First is its full authority digital engine missions, its maintainability is improved too. (Stators and vanes, which are static blades found control (FADEC) unit – computers made by BAE The geometries of the cooling-air paths and between many fan, compressor and turbine Systems and attached to the engine but run on airfl ows in the F135’s hot section are diff erent stages, act to condition and present the core Pratt & Whitney proprietary FADEC software. In from those in the F119. Turbine blade thermal airfl ow optimally to each subsequent rotating hovering fl ight, the FADEC computers make the barrier coating materials – used to prevent stage.) So P&W has possibly been able to reduce engine work harder, increasing dry thrust from nickel super-alloy turbine blades and vanes the parts count in the engine and make it lighter 28,000lb to 39,400lb without using afterburner. from melting in the more than 3,000°F (1,649°C) – but it declines to confi rm this. Second, the F-35B relies on the Rolls-Royce airfl ow coming from the combustor – were The F135 uses ceramic matrix composites LiftSystem, an assembly of four major components updated too. (CMCs) in its exhaust nozzle, primarily on the integrated with the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine to

65 F-35 Lightning II

six vanes that are controlled somewhat independently to give the combination of vector and area control of the LiftFan exhaust,” said Gregg Pyers. When the F-35B is hovering, the driveshaft delivers 28,000 shaft horsepower to the LiftFan’s clutch-and-bevel-gear system so that the LiftFan provides nearly 20,000lb (124.55kN) of downward thrust as a column of cool air. (In hover mode the F-35B’s coupled F135- driveshaft arrangement acts exactly like a turboprop engine, except that most of its power output is used to drive air vertically rather than horizontally – so the F135 is actually the world’s most powerful turboprop engine when installed in the F-35B.) In hover mode another 15,700lb (69.84kN) of F-35B BF-01 with the LiftFan doors open during mode 4 fl ight. Andy Wolfe/Lockheed Martin thrust exits the engine exhaust as hot gas and is directed downwards at the rear of the aircraft by make up the STOVL propulsion system. “The variable area vane box nozzle can be used the aircraft’s Three-Bearing Swivel Module (3BSM). First is the LiftFan, a horizontally-mounted to vector the thrust generated by the LiftFan This remarkable piece of equipment consists of fan unit located behind the F-35’s cockpit. The from straight down for hover or a vertical three articulated sections of nozzle casing, each 50-inch (1,270mm) diameter, 50-inch deep landing, but also 42° aft. It is used for short of which is made from titanium. Each section is LiftFan draws in cold air through an inlet on the take-off s and during conversion from wing-borne joined to the others driven by its own ring bearing. top of the fuselage and accelerates it to produce fl ight to direct lift in a hover and ultimately for a When the F-35B hovers, the FADEC commands vertical lift. The LiftFan inlet is covered by a large, vertical landing. the 3BSM – which can direct air through a Lockheed Martin-made door – nicknamed the “The interesting aspect of the variable area 95-degree range from 5° forward to horizontally ‘57 Chevy Hood’ – hinged to the structure of the vane box nozzle is it’s integral to the aircraft’s back – to swivel downwards to direct hot engine aircraft aft of the LiftFan inlet. It is only opened structure and is designed with the jet’s structural exhaust air in the same direction as the direction when the F-35B is hovering, performing a short loads in mind. The box is delivered to Northrop of the cool air produced by the LiftFan near the take-off or transitioning between horizontal and Grumman for installation into the centre front of the aircraft. vertical fl ight. fuselage section up to 18 months prior to the Gregg Pyers said the 3BSM enables the The LiftFan features two counter-rotating fans, LiftFan’s delivery.” engine’s thrust to be vectored straight out and one directly above the other. Each is a blisk, the The box is designed and installed as a structural downward by 95° for a vertical landing and in upper fan containing 24 hollow titanium blades component of the aircraft to save weight, a key STOVL operating mode. The system completes and the lower fan 28 solid titanium blades. parameter for STOVL fl ight: the aircraft must the 95° transition (swivel from horizontal to Each fan is driven by a bevel gear system. generate more thrust than its weight. vertical orientation) in 2.5 seconds, completely (Bevel gears allow torque from a horizontal shaft “The variable area vane box nozzle comprises redirecting its entire 15,700lb of thrust in that to be transmitted through 90° to a vertical shaft time. The 3BSM also provides plus or minus by means of conical gears.) F135 CTOL/CV Engine Design 12.5° of lateral control. Both bevel gears are contained in a common “It was a unique challenge for the LiftFan Maximum thrust 43,000lb (191.3kN) gearbox and are powered by a driveshaft which designers to enable all of the thrust required for Intermediate thrust 28,000lb (128.1kN) runs along the F-35B’s longitudinal axis. The hover and take-off conditions and be able to turn Length 220 inches (5.59m) driveshaft is powered by the low-pressure spool it down when transitioning back to wing-borne Inlet diameter 43 inches (1.09m) of the F-35B’s engine, which is located behind Maximum diameter 46 inches (1.17m) fl ight or vice versa.” the LiftFan. The LiftFan is located in front of the Bypass ratio 0.57 Together with nearly 20,000lb of downward engine inlet and the driveshaft connecting it to Overall pressure ratio 28 thrust produced by the LiftFan and the 3,700lb the engine runs through the inlet, under a fairing. (16.46kN) of bypass-air thrust directed vertically On the engine, the driveshaft is connected to the fan hub for the engine’s fi rst fan stage, which is The horizontally-mounted fan unit has a 50- driven by the low-pressure spool. inch diameter. Rolls-Royce Another major LiftSystem component is the clutch for the LiftFan gearbox. The driveshaft is always spinning when the engine is lit, but when vertical lift from the LiftFan is not required – for instance, in conventional fl ight – the clutch is disengaged. It only engages and locks when vertical thrust is commanded. Because of the friction generated and the high temperatures involved, the clutch plates are made from the same hard-wearing material used in the carbon brakes of large commercial aircraft such as the A380. Below the LiftFan, the variable area vane box (VAVB) provides an exit path for the cool air driven downwards vertically by the LiftFan. Rolls- Royce produces the VAVB, which consists of an aluminium structure and contains six louvred titanium vanes. These can be angled all the way from 42° degrees back, through fully vertical to 5° forward to provide variable directionality for the downward cool air fl ow from the LiftFan, as commanded by the pilot through the aircraft’s FADEC units. Gregg Pyers, LiftSystem Chief Engineer, said:

66 F-35 Lightning II

downwards by the F-35B’s two wing-positioned Other major components of the LiftSystem directionality so the pilot can control roll while Roll-Posts (see below) to enable the F-35B to are the aircraft’s two Roll-Posts and the Roll-Post hovering. Lockheed Martin’s original X-35 concept hover, this means the F-35B can turn 15,700lb ducts which connect them to the engine. Each demonstrator featured valves between the engine of horizontally directed thrust into 39,000lb of Roll-Post duct is a very complex part whose casing and the Roll-Post ducts which could be thrust directed vertically downward in less than shape changes from circular at one end – closed when the aircraft was not hovering, but in 3 seconds. where it connects to the engine – to toroidal (a production aircraft there are no such doors and This astonishing capability to redirect – in the complex surface generated by rotating a closed bypass airfl ow is constantly sent to the ducts. The twinkling of an eye – more thrust than powers two plane curve about a coplanar line that does only way to control Roll-Post thrust is via the fl ap- BAE Systems Hawks and turn it into more thrust not intersect the curve) at the other, where it doors in the bottom of the wing. than powers a Panavia Tornado at full reheat attaches to the Roll-Post. Each titanium Roll- The demand for very high (and nearly as much as powers a fully-reheated Post duct is superplastically formed, power during hover requires Eurofi ghter Typhoon) is made possible by the the engine to receive a high F-35B’s enormously sophisticated FADEC software, amount of airfl ow, so Lockheed which was developed by Pratt & Martin designed the F-35B Whitney specifi cally for the with a pair of Auxiliary Air Inlet F-35B’s propulsion system. Doors (AAIDs) in the upper The ring bearing for surface of the fuselage behind the fi rst 3BSM nozzle the big inlet door for the LiftFan. These section is driven by its AAIDs provide additional inlet air for the F135 own actuator, while the Pratt & Whitney engine, not the LiftFan. bearings for the second During testing by the F-35 Integrated Test and third sections are diff usion-bonded and laser-welded. Force at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, driven by a common The Roll-Posts themselves are variable-area Maryland, the original AAID design was found to actuator which acts directly nozzles situated in the lower part of each inner suff er from excessive wear and fatigue due to on the ring bearing for the wing section and act to provide roll control for the buff et environment; had an inadequate seal second nozzle section and drives the ring bearing the F-35B in hover mode. To do this, the ducts design; and the door locks had an inadequate for the third section through a transfer gearbox. direct bypass air from the engine to the Roll- service life. Low Rate Initial Production aircraft The two sections can’t articulate Posts which drive the air out through the bottom were restricted from some STOVL-mode fl ight independently but do so through a fi xed ratio, of each wing. In the F-35B, 3,700lb of thrust in operations until the redesigned AAID gained and are set at oblique angles to each other. the form of bypass air is directed out to the two its fl ight clearance from Naval Air Systems Both ring bearing actuators for the 3BSM are Roll-Posts while hovering. Command. The redesigned door is now being powered by ‘fueldraulics’: some of the aircraft’s Each Roll-Post assembly features a pair of retrofi tted to all F-35Bs built in LRIP 1 to LRIP 5. fuel is pressurised to 3,500lb per square inch fl ap-type titanium doors in the bottom of the (2.46kg per square millimetre) to act as a wing, controlled by the FADEC. These are Production hydraulic fl uid to power the 3BSM actuators’ controlled by rotary actuators which enable fully Rolls-Royce has transferred 3BSM and Roll-Post servo-valves. variable opening, providing thrust variability and assembly and test functions from its facility at

MarinesMa align an Australian-built engine removal and installation trailer to demonstrate the procedures required to remove an F135 engine. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

67 F-35 Lightning II

Bristol in the UK to Indianapolis, predominantly to save money and to consolidate activity now the system has entered production. LiftFans have always been assembled and tested in Indianpolis. LiftFans are assembled on a fl ow line with three main stages; the clutch, gearbox and fan modules are built on independent component lines that feed a stack line. The plant currently produces one complete LiftFan system each month with capacity to treble output at the peak of F-35B-model production. The Indianapolis plant also assembles the 3BSM (using actuators manufactured by Moog in the UK) and produces the Roll-Posts and the VAVB. The structural component of the VAVB nozzle is a machined aluminium rectangular box with interface points used to attach it to the aircraft’s structure. Six hollow titanium vanes are installed in the box structure. Vanes one, two and three are ganged on one linear actuator, vanes four and fi ve are ganged on a second linear actuator, while vane six uses a standalone rotor actuator. The assembly process also includes installation of the actuators, plumbing, harnesses, hydraulic lines and their control units. A Three-Bearing Swivel Module on Rolls-Royce’s Describing the 3BSM, Gregg Pyers said: Bristol production line. Rolls-Royce “The three bearing comprises three casings numbered one, two and three. Casing one contrast the 3BSM retrofi ts were fi nished at is fi tted to the engine, number two is in the F135 STOVL Propulsion System Design Bristol in the fi nal work to be carried out there. middle and three at the end. Each one is Maximum thrust class 41,000lb (182.4kN) assembled to a bearing to allow the casings to Intermediate thrust class 27,000lb (120.1kN) LiftWorks and Challenges move independently of one another. Separate Short take-off thrust class 40,740lb (181.2kN) The Rolls-Royce Indianapolis plant currently has actuators, powered by ‘fueldraulics’ drive casings Hover thrust 40,650lb (180.8kN) the only LiftFan test cell in the world. Equipped one and two. A transfer gear box connects Main engine 18,680lb (83.1kN) with a 40,000 horsepower electric motor to casing two with casing three and drives it in LiftFan 18,680lb (83.1kN) drive a LiftFan, the cell continues to support equal and opposite direction.” Roll-Post 3,290lb (14.6kN) developmental testing and production pass-off Casings are machined at the Bristol facility Length 369 inches (9.37m) checking. And the Indy plant is home to another and fi xed to the bearing as part of the assembly Main engine inlet diameter 43 inches (1.09m) one-of-a-kind facility: a LiftFan depot. In the process in Indianapolis, which includes Main engine maximum diameter 46 inches (1.17m) future, the US Marine Corps intends to operate installation of the actuators and external LiftFan inlet diameter 51 inches (1.30m) its own indigenous LiftFan depot. plumbing. Each 3BSM is shipped to East LiftFan maximum diameter 53 inches (1.34m) More recently Rolls-Royce commissioned Hartford, Connecticut for fi tting to the engine Conventional bypass ratio 0.56 its own MR&O facility at Indianapolis called on Pratt & Whitney’s production line. The Powered Lift bypass ratio 0.51 LiftWorks, which is housed in the same complex fully assembled 3BSM is shipped to Lockheed Conventional overall pressure ratio 28 as the 3BSM assembly line. The company will Martin’s Fort Worth facility, fi tted on the engine. Powered Lift overall pressure ratio 29 use the MR&O to supplement the Department The 3BSM control of the aircraft is of Defense’s own facilities and for international phenomenal, according to Gregg Pyers. “Just interstage vanes in the LiftFan and the depot-level maintenance. think about the mass of hardware being moved bearings in the 3BSM. The author was interested to know what the and the rate at which it’s moving,” he enthused. Gregg Pyers recalled: “The interstage vanes biggest challenge had been for the Rolls-Royce “One of the truly amazing things about the digital were vibrating in a particular mode of operation team in designing the LiftSystem. “The gear box,” control system is how it keeps the aircraft so that imposed an operating restriction on replied Gregg Pyers. steady and easy for the pilot to fl y.” the aircraft. The initial solution to dampen “The loading in the gears is higher than any Discussing production of the of the Roll- out the vibration was ineff ective in colder other gearbox we’ve fl own in our corporate Post duct, he explained how the component is temperatures because the dampening material history. We had to use fi nite element stress hydro-dynamically formed by applying pressure became less eff ective and resulted in a 5° modelling on the gears as opposed to industry on the inside of the duct against the metal die Fahrenheit temperature restriction. So we standard gear design rules. And we had to to expand the metal out to the shape required. redesigned the vane to remove the vibration validate the models to get the gears light “We’ve worked extensively with Doncasters [the mode. The dampening material was no longer enough for the STOVL application, but have the UK based manufacturer] to improve the process required, thereby removing the corresponding structural integrity needed. and get our conformance to print requirements. temperature restriction. “While a two-stage counter-rotating gear Our scrape rate is reduced and throughput has The Chief Engineer detailed how the 3BSM box using spiral bevel gears is fairly simple to increased,” he noted. modifi cation involved the bearings. “As a devise, the amount of stress analysis and the conditioning fl ow exited the bearings it was tools and methods used to design them had to Supporting the Marines impinging on the aircraft structure. Blowing be dramatically changed to achieve the size and Rolls-Royce provided huge support to the hot air on an aircraft’s aluminum structural weight limitations and be strong enough to last US Marine Corps for its work-up to the July components is not a good idea. We conducted for the life of the system.” 31 initial operating capability declarations. rig testing, which determined the conditioning To ensure the LiftSystem design is robust The company helped to ensure the ten fl ow on the bearings was not required. They enough to last for its service life, Rolls-Royce aircraft required by the squadron (VMFA-121 were redesigned without the conditioning has accumulated more than 15,000 test hours based at MCAS Yuma) had all the LiftSystem fl ow which successfully removed the hot air on the hardware. “From my perspective we’ve modifi cations needed to operate in the full impingement.” proven the endurance and reliability is there envelope with adequate spares. The interstage vane modifi cations were all with a very stringent development programme,” A team led by LiftSystem Program Director completed at the Indianapolis factory because concluded Gregg Pyers. Chris Kjelgaard Jarrett Jones focused on modifying the of the requirement to dissemble the LiftFan. By and Mark Ayton

68 F-35 Lightning II

US Navy fl ight deck crew use a tractor to push a trailer loaded with an F135 engine core module (stowed in a purpose-built crate) to an MV-22 Osprey. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations

Sailors and Marines remove an engine core module for the F-35B Lightning II aircraft from an MV-22 Osprey aboard the USS Wasp. Mass Communication Specialist Elizabeth Vlahos/US Navy F-35 Lightning II

The Continuing Development of ALIS

70 F-35 Lightning II

ockheed Martin’s Autonomic Logistics operate its own ALIS system as part of an addressed many of the earlier issues with the Information System successfully integrated logistic network environment. Its system. Just a few months later the company’s supported the three US Marine Corps integration with each nation’s information and ALIS 2.0.1 followed and was the baseline version LF-35 squadrons involved in the type’s communications technology (ICT) systems, and required for the Marines IOC declaration. work-up to the initial operational capability (IOC) with extant operational, maintenance, training In addition, the second version of the declaration on July 31. But the overall system and supply processes, while meeting national Standard Operating Unit (SOU), which is the unit- has not achieved the level of maturity originally regulation and certifi cation requirements will level server set supporting squadron operations, planned for this point in time although the present future challenges. has begun roll-out through the fl eet. latest version, ALIS 2.01, was delivered in time to Development of ALIS was probably Known as SOU V2, the system addresses support the Marines. overshadowed by the focus on aircraft software deployability issues with the earlier version and ALIS is the operations and management during the initial stages of the F-35 programme. is capable of supporting sub-squadron level system for the F-35, providing an interface with However, signifi cant additional resources have deployments. the aircraft with a range of capabilities that also since been directed to develop the system to James Sprang, Lockheed Martin’s ALIS fi eld include prognostics, supply chain, customer the standard necessary for the US Marine Corps and development lead, said in early August, just support services, training and technical data. IOC milestone at the end of July. The system days after the Marines IOC milestone: “SOU V2 is It is a highly complex and integrated software- will continue to be refi ned to meet the needs of in the fi eld today; it’s installed at Yuma and has driven system which is critical for fl ight operations. operating units around the world. been delivered to our customer. They have the However, like most software-intensive systems, capability to fi eld a deployable ALIS right now. the development of ALIS has proved to be a Recent Development “ALIS 2.0.1 software is also in the middle of bigger challenge than originally anticipated. Lockheed Martin rolled out ALIS 2.0.0 software deployment fl eet-wide and we’ve got about fi ve Each F-35 partner nation will acquire and to the fl eet in the fi rst quarter of 2015, which sites under our belt right now.”

A sailor aboard the USS Wasp signals to the pilot of an F-35B Lightning II to land as it arrives for OT I on May 18, 2015. LCpl Remington Hall/US Marine Corps

71 F-35 Lightning II

The pilot of F-35B BuNo 169024/’VM11’ steers his aircraft off the landing spot on board the USS Wasp. Mass Communication Specialist Zhiwei Tan/ US Navy

Sprang said the methodology and the performance of the current ALIS V2.0.0 during get the fi rst aircraft here in Australia in late 2018, processes by which version 2.0.0 was approved deployed shipboard operations. but we are planning to work around some of for fl eet release were heavily scrutinised by “Until this point, all ALIS infrastructure was those issues,” he explained. the F-35 Joint Program Offi ce (JPO) and the US land-based to support fl ight test, training and “I think the key issues of US Marine Corps and services, to ensure it could be refi ned, enhanced aircraft modifi cations,” James Sprang said. US Air Force IOCs and the ramp up of ‘real-world’ and streamlined for 2.0.1 rollout just a few “This event demonstrates the maturing ALIS operations in the United States has highlighted months later. capability by facilitating communication from a number of issues associated with ALIS. The “We saw a much-improved implementation ship to shore and connecting directly to ship issue for us is really around taking that system, at timeline and we’ve gathered a lot of good networks to support F-35 operations.” the level of maturity it will be at the end of 2018, customer feedback. We are continuing to roll it A standard operating unit was embarked and then being able to integrate that into the out to the rest of the fl eet so a lot of other users, aboard the Wasp during last year and Australian environment.” including the Air Force and the Navy are starting simultaneously supported training fl ights from AVM Deeble said the complexity of ALIS was to get their hands on it as well,” he said. Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. due to the requirement for it to be the single tool- “So far the feedback we’ve received on 2.0.1 After the successful conclusion of the set to support engineering, maintenance, supply has been very positive. There has been a lot of trials Lieutenant General Jon Davis, Deputy chain, training and operational mission planning. praise for the ease by which it was installed but Commandant for Aviation, HQ US Marine “ALIS is a very, very complex system; it’s trying also for the usability of the software itself.” Corps, said: “We focussed this carrier period on to be the enterprise toolset for the JSF [Joint However he noted that the ALIS programme logistic sustainability to include a lot of forced Strike Fighter] which means it is trying to go to a was still in its development phase. maintenance actions, both above deck and in the place where no other system has been before, “The ALIS software capability is still maturing, hangar deck. and to have all of that in one tool is always going we have the 2.0 suite in development, the 2.0.2 “The onboard autonomic logistics system, to be a big ask,” he commented. release is coming out for [US] Air Force IOC worked very well to achieve our turnaround “I think they’re going to have to roll that back a next year, which increases the overall end-state times.” little bit, to some core functionality and then add capability signifi cantly and then we have the the bells and whistles downstream.” ALIS 3.0 release coming out shortly after that,” A Customer’s Perspective AVM Deeble said the key for the RAAF was to he said. With the fi rst two Royal Australian Air Force “We are now focussing our eff orts on Air F-35A aircraft fl ying daily training sorties as part Marines aboard the USS Wasp perform engine Force IOC.” of the F-35 international training centre at Luke tests on an F-35B Lightning II during OT I on May Air Force Base, Arizona and the fi rst aircraft 20, 2015. LCpl Remington Hall/US Marine Corps Trials aboard USS Wasp due to be delivered in-country by the end of One of the major precursors to US Marines’ IOC 2018, Australia is keeping a close eye on the was an operational test, known as Operational development of ALIS. Test Phase One at sea (OT I) conducted aboard An ALIS experimentation system, known as the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1), a ‘SOU Lite’ has been established at Lockheed off the coast of Virginia in May. Martin’s Australian headquarters in Canberra. It Six US Marines Corps F-35Bs (two from is currently using ALIS 2.0.0 baseline software VMFAT-501 and four from VMFA-121) were to better understand the functionality resident embarked aboard the ship and fl ew a series of within the system and to de-risk the integration representative day and night mission profi les eff ort required to allow ALIS to interface with under operational conditions. Marine Fighter existing networks. Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) However, Air Vice Marshal Chris Deeble, ‘Warlords’ is based at Marine Corps Air Station Australia’s F-35 Programme Manager, notes Beaufort, South Carolina, and Marine Fighter that the SOU Lite is also being used to develop Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) ‘Green possible work around solutions in the Australian Knights’ is based at Marine Corps Air Station context, due to the present lack of ALIS maturity. Yuma in Arizona. “ALIS is not likely to be at the level of maturity One of the main test points was the we would have otherwise hoped at the point we

72 F-35 Lightning II

understand exactly the level of maturity ALIS will have achieved when it begins to ramp up its own F-35 capability in 2018, as a precursor to aircraft arriving in Australia, he explained: “We’re going to have to understand what other, extant, tools we might have to employ to fi ll some of the gaps. “I think training is an area where they were very ambitious and they’re going to have to roll some of that back. They might look at breaking out some of the mission planning functions and look at those a little bit diff erently and potentially re-integrating at a later stage. I feel we can handle all of those perturbations but we just need to understand what they mean for us as we look at the aircraft arriving back and what we need to be able to operate back here in Australia.” Exporting ALIS With every international F-35 partner nation Marines use a Portable Maintenance Aid on having its own bespoke ICT infrastructure, the the fl ight deck of the USS Wasp to check the integration of ALIS into those sovereign networks status of an F-35B. The PMA is the interface will present further challenges. between the aircraft and the ALIS. LCpl Rem- From an Australian perspective, AVM Deeble ington Hall/US Marine Corps said that in addition to the experimentation work being undertaken in the SOU Lite in focus of attention. be in service, the SOU V2 should have mature Canberra, a lot of time is being spent in the JSF “Every nation will have a range of national software and its deployability will have been tried executive steering and strategy boards. This security issues to consider and the issue for us and tested. is being undertaken to determine how ALIS is how to control data that we wouldn’t want to “The Australian Government will have a holistic will translate from the US context into that of go back into someone else’s IT system, and what time on ALIS leading up to their jets arriving each partner nation, how cost-eff ective it will this might mean for cyber security perspective,” in-country in 2018, so they will be familiar with be and what aff ect it will have on local industry AVM Deeble pointed out the ins and outs, not only from a software contracting outcomes. Current work with the secure off board perspective but also from a deployability “The issue is how to then integrate ALIS into information systems centre (OBISC), under perspective,” he said. our defence information environment. That construction at RAAF Williamtown, would The work carried out in the eight months can be quite challenging, because a line of determine how much information goes back leading up to the US Marine Corps IOC was software that you enter into that environment into the Lockheed Martin ALOU or other ‘unprecedented’, with the deployment of two has to be qualifi ed and certifi ed for use within systems in the US. major releases of ALIS to the fl eet within six that environment, and that can be quite a long “But there’s a fi ne line that needs to be struck months of each other, observed Sprang. timeline in its own right.” he noted. in this and we want to be able to take advantage “The capability growth of ALIS, between “Cyber security testing is still being undertaken of the global JSF data in its own right and then what was in the fl eet last year and where we by the United States and we await the feed our data into that, so it’s analysed and are today, has increased signifi cantly. We’ve outcomes. We’re engaging closely now with key solutions to problems can be developed and the added to the number of bases we’re supporting, stakeholders like CIOG [Chief Information Offi cer cost shared across the enterprise,” he continued. and the numbers of sorties generated, and Group] and using that environment to better “Working out what that data is, how it gets transactions have increased many times over, understand where we’re going in that regard.” transferred, the frequency at which it gets in terms of what the system is processing and transferred, what it means as a single piece of handling throughout the enterprise,” he said. Security of Sovereign Data information are all issues that we’re working “Looking forward we have US Air Force One of the principal tenets of the ALIS operation through at the moment.” IOC coming up in a year or so and our fi rst is exchange of data between the national central international installations ahead of us that we point of entry servers and the Autonomic Towards the Future are taking very seriously, the fi rst of which is the Logistics Operating Unit servers within Lockheed James Sprang said that when the fi rst RAAF Australian OISC, and we will have some exciting Martin’s global sustainment kit in Fort Worth, so aircraft arrives in Australia in 2018, a yet to be news coming with future releases of ALIS as protection of sensitive sovereign data is another determined variant of ALIS 3.0 software should well.” Nigel Pittaway

73 F-35 Lightning II F-35 Lightning II

F-35A 12-5051/‘WA’ with tail markings of the US Air Force Weapons School, takes off from Nellis Air Force Base on August 24. This aircraft is one of fi ve F-35A Lightning IIs now assigned to the Weapons School. Dan Stijovich

and how we were doing it for the F-35,” he said. The US Air Force will not have an F-35 WIC at the time it expects to declare its fi rst F-35A unit, the 34th Fighter Squadron (34th FS) based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, as IOC (initial operating capability) in the summer of 2016. To achieve that milestone the 34th FS requires pilots qualifi ed as F-35 Weapons Offi cers. This is one of the 16th’s current objectives. Lt Col Eppersen explained: “We developed the Follow F-35 Weapons Offi cer seed corn plan, in which we selected two instructors, one a graduate of the F-15E Strike Eagle course and the other from the F-16. They’ll be assigned to the 16th WPS for two years. During that time they will help to develop tactics and the F-35 syllabus, which will be followed by pilots graduating from Luke or Eglin [the F-35 training bases] to qualify them as combat ready pilots; either wingman, fl ight lead or instructor. “They took conversion training at Eglin, Me graduated as F-35 instructors and returned to Nellis, where they initially fl ew missions with the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron because at he long-awaited arrival of the fi rst F-35A Courses (WIC) for the F-16C Fighting Falcon and, the time we [the 16th WPS] had no aircraft.” Lightning II at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, in the future, the F-35A Lightning II. At the end of their two-year assignments with for the US Air Force Weapons School was the 16th WPS, both Weapons Offi cers will be Ta major milestone. The aircraft, F-35A 12- Seed Corn assigned to Hill next January and June. A third 5049/’WA’, was delivered on January 15 by Capt The fi rst main objective for the 16th WPS was pilot joined the squadron in June this year and a Brent Golden, an instructor pilot with the 16th to determine how to train weapons offi cers for fourth arrived at the Tomahawks in August. Weapons Squadron ‘Tomahawks’ (16th WPS). For the F-35 community. AIR International spoke Lt Col Eppersen said: “Our ultimate mission the squadron and the school, the event heralded to Lt Col David Eppersen, Commander of the at this point is to make F-35 IOC happen on the beginning of the type’s introduction to both 16th Weapons Squadron about the F-35’s time. To that end we have to develop the tactics, organisations – a goal dozens of people had been introduction to the squadron. conduct testing and develop the syllabus to working towards for several years. “We looked at the lessons learned from the make sure everything is ready for when pilots The 16th WPS runs the Weapons Instructor stand-up of the F-22 course to enhance what show up at Hill.”

74 F-35 Lightning II F-35 Lightning II

Sharing Jets required in a fourth/fifth-generation mix and SEAD and its Sub-sets All F-35s assigned to Nellis Air Force Base are how an F-35 can manage and support the Initially the Air Force won’t have enough F-35s to treated as Warfare Centre assets, meaning the fourth-gen fighters. We’ve also examined where conduct the SEAD mission on its own, so work two F-35 squadrons on base share each other’s the F-35 will play as the threat scenario gets is under way to determine how to integrate the jets. The 422nd TES is part of the 53rd Wing much more difficult if we enter a major combat F-35 with fourth-gen SEAD platforms such as the at Eglin Air Force Base and the 16th WPS is operation.” Block 50 and Block 52 F-16C and the US Navy’s assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis: both report Some observers doubt the F-35’s capability EA-18G Growler. to the Warfare Centre. in the CAS mission despite the aircraft’s sensors Lt Col Eppersen posed some questions: “How F-35As assigned to the 422nd TES are Block and systems which, on paper, all punch above do we incorporate the F-35 in? How do we 1 aircraft; those with the 16th WPS are Block 3i: the weight of those of legacy aircraft. The F-35’s pass data and targeting information? How do the first Warfare Centre jets configured with IOC ability to perform CAS in a non-permissive we leverage the stealth capabilities on some standard hardware. environment is the prime capability that the 16th target sets but not on others where we might Sharing the Block 3i aircraft has enabled WPS has spent time evaluating. be able to use fourth-gen so that we don’t waste the Warfare Centre and both squadrons to According to Lt Col Eppersen, sensor fusion munitions from the fifth-gen platforms when we undertake tactics development to the level and stealth make the F-35 a formidable CAS don’t need to? required for the IOC declaration next summer. platform even in a non-permissive environment. “For one phase of our course we conduct The majority of the lines being flown during “Although the pilot will still have to worry about SEAD-DEAD by finding surface-to-air missiles the spring and summer were with the Block 3i surface-to-air threats, this will be less of a factor sites and destroying them with air-to-ground aircraft. This continues to give the pilots the when executing the CAS mission. The F-35 will munitions. During the first Weapons School desired advanced capabilities with which to also offer greater loiter time allowing it to remain class of 2015 [which finished in June] we fully develop the latest tactics required for combat on station because it can carry a lot of fuel integrated the F-35 into the SEAD phase to employment of the aircraft. Tactics will be compared with an F-16,” he said. start developing interoperability. This included adjusted as follow-on software upgrades are Suppression of enemy air defences is the operating with an RC-135 Rivet Joint. released under Block 3i before IOC. second mission currently being flown and is one “The F-35 also participated in the final The Weapons Officers already assigned to the of the big mission sets envisaged for the F-35 by integration phase of the course, which enabled 16th WPS are integrated with the 422nd TES, the Weapons School. “It’s also one of the core 16th WPS F-35 pilots to fly in a mission with but they are focusing on basic close air support mission sets that the commander of ACC has just F-22 Raptors and B-2 Spirits to determine (CAS), a SEAD-DEAD (suppression-destruction of declared [as a requirement] for IOC,” said Lt Col how an LO [low-observable] strike force can enemy air defences) mission, and will also soon Eppersen. work. But the 16th also participated in a mission fly a counter air capability. All three mission sets “The aircraft is best poised to conduct SEAD- involving every fourth- and fifth-gen type flown have been set by the commander of Air Combat DEAD because of its stealth capabilities, synthetic by the air force to evaluate how the F-35 fits in Command [ACC] for IOC. aperture radar, EOTS [the AAQ-40 Electro- and which of its capabilities can be best used.” Lt Col Eppersen explained: “F-35s are flying Optical Targeting System], and electronic warfare The 16th WPS specialises in SEAD and DEAD local close air support missions with A-10s, systems. It should be able to find and locate with its long-established F-16 course and has F-16s and F-15Es to determine the tactics surface-to-air missile systems fairly well.” shaped the mission into three subsets: avoid,

75 F-35 Lightning II

suppress, and destroy. Each one gets more the delta between the two as it continues to complex and more diffi cult with associated higher establish the F-35 in the Weapons School. risk. Avoid is self-explanatory. Suppression can The 16th WPS will build up its instructor cadre be achieved with kinetic eff ect by employing an at a rate of four per year. Each one will come AGM-88 HARM missile, or by using electronic from diff erent MDS [Major Design Series] types warfare techniques, such as jamming. to mirror the fi ghter components of a Combat “You don’t have to employ a HARM missile, Air Force. The current composition of Combat but you may not have good enough co-ordinates Air Forces is 50% F-16 and the remainder split to kill a surface-to-air missile [SAM] system with between the A-10, F-15E and F-22. As the 16th another type of air-to-ground munitions. With WPS reaches its full complement, it will have the F-35, we could drop a GBU-39/B Small an instructor cadre comprising approximately Diameter Bomb in the SAM’s general location so 50% former F-16 pilots, 20% A-10, 20% F-15E the resultant explosion suppresses the missile and the remainder from the F-15C and F-22 system, whether we actually killed it or not.” communities. Part of the squadron’s tasking involves working Provided everything related to the F-35A with the US Navy’s Growler Wing based at Naval programme remains on track, the 16th WPS Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. EA-18G hopes to start its fi rst F-35 WIC in January 2018. Growlers deployed to Nellis during the SEAD- The goal is to start with four students, one DEAD phase of its course in May. Two Growlers for each US Air Force F-35 Wing at the time, fl ew on most missions: an average SEAD-DEAD graduating by the summer. force comprised eight F-16Cs, two F-35As, two EA- Three years might appear to be far into the 18G Growlers and one RC-135 Rivet Joint. future, but compared with the F-22 Raptor coming online, the F-35 plan is quicker. Part Other Weapon Schools of the reason for the timing is the aircraft’s The ongoing work between Growlers and F-35As capabilities and also the preference to fl y Block is brand new, although the 16th WPS has a long- 3F aircraft with greater capabilities than the established working relationship with the Naval current Block 3i jets. Fighter Weapons School (the N7 Department So demanding are the performance and of the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center) capability requirements for any WIC that starting based at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, more the fi rst one before 2018 may mean not meeting commonly referred to as Top Gun. the objectives. Lt Col Eppersen said: “The Growlers from Top As more F-35s are assigned to Nellis, the Gun come to Nellis and fl y with us during each Lightning Aircraft Maintenance Unit (AMU) will grow Weapons School class. This allows students in size to meet the requirements of both the 422nd from both schools to work with each other. We TES and the 16th WPS. Ultimately, the 16th WPS will send F-16 instructors to teach classes in the Top have more aircraft than any of the Weapons School Gun course, which helps the Navy pilots better squadrons: it currently operates 21 F-16s, but will understand our capabilities and vice versa. As receive a greater number of F-35s. Eventually the we move forward, the F-35 will slide into that 16th WPS will split: the F-35 mission will go to a new role and we’ll use our relationship with Top squadron and the F-16 mission will stay with the Gun to bring the F-35 into the same fold and 16th. And the Lightning AMU will also divide into [become] fully integrated. two separate units - one for the Weapons School Lt Col Eppersen told AIR International how the and one for the 422nd TES. US Air Force Weapons School is working with By that time frame the 422nd both Top Gun and Marine Aviation Weapons and TES will have more Tactics Squadron 1 [MAWTS-1, the US Marine than ten aircraft Corps Weapons School] to ensure all three move assigned and will forward with the F-35 together. be conducting “We’ve been working with MAWTS-1 over the traditional past year to align F/A-18 and F-16 tactics so our operational test on F-35 pilots are working from the same baseline. the F-35A. With two In the future we are planning a programme separate AMUs, the two between the Weapons School and MAWTS-1 squadrons will be able to to exchange instructors back and forth. We’ll sustain normal ops in the way probably establish something similar with that each unit runs its maintenance Top Gun but, at this point, the US Navy’s F-35 and fl ying programmes between test IOC is later, so it’s not time yet to start those activities and the Weapons School. conversations.” The F-35 is the future of the US Air Force, so it’s an exciting time for the 16th WPS and 422nd Building a School House TES. Both are playing a signifi cant role in helping The Combat Air Forces (CAF) syllabus will be the to bring about the IOC declaration by making baseline of the Weapons School syllabus. It’s still sure that once the F-35 is mission-ready the in development because the aircraft is not fully pilots have the tactics and capabilities they need operational and its full envelope is not yet cleared. to go to war and win. But the 16th WPS has started determining tactics “That’s ultimately our mission here and we’re for within visual range air-to-air engagements and excited to be a part of it,” said Lt made a fl ight programme and structure of what’s Col Eppersen. Mark Ayton required to determine them. As the aircraft gains more capabilities, the syllabi for the CAF and the Weapons School will evolve. Each syllabus will have the same skill sets; the Weapons School edition will be taught at a higher level. The F-35A Lightning II 12-5049/‘WA’ and F-16C Fighting Falcon 93-0553/‘WA’ assigned to the 16th Weapons Squadron approach the Lake Mead National Recreation Area en route to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada 16th WPS is working on January 15, 2015. Senior Airman Cody Griffi th/US Air Force on perfecting

76 F-35 Lightning II

77 F-35 Lightning II

Australian Lightning at Luke ustralian pilot training on the Lockheed Luke flight line, as part of what will become an an operational conversion unit. Martin F-35A Lightning II is now well international pool of aircraft. Decisions about the future of the RAAF’s 24 under way at the international training The two aircraft were delivered to the 61st F/A-18F Super Hornets, acquired in 2011, are Acentre at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. FS from Lockheed Martin’s facility at Fort Worth yet to be taken. The outcome might see the In early August, the second Royal Australian in January this year and by early August had eventual total of Lightning IIs increase to 100 Air Force F-35 pilot became the first international amassed 250 flight hours, flying at ratea of aircraft. student to fly his first sortie with the 61st Fighter around 20 hours per month. The production profile for the other 70 Squadron at Luke, as part of his training. Preparations are also under way for the arrival is dependent upon the timely ramp-up of Squadron Leader David Bell is also the first of the first aircraft in Australia, currently due at production at Fort Worth – which is scheduled international student at Luke and joins the the end of 2018, with a capital works programme to increase to a full-rate production of 17 aircraft RAAF’s first F-35 pilot, Sqn Ldr Andrew Jackson, worth around AUD $1.5 billion, which began in per month by the middle of the next decade. who previously undertook training at Eglin Air early May. The profile, and the unit cost, may also be Force Base in Florida. Sqn Ldr Jackson is now an affected by a US Government decision to embark F-35A instructor pilot. Australian Programme Update on a ‘block buy’ of between 450 and 500 aircraft, In addition, F-35A Lightning IIs A35-001 and The 72 F-35A aircraft approved so far by the to be delivered between 2020 and 2022. This A35-002, the first two of 72 currently approved Australian Government will replace three plan was first mooted by US Under Secretary of by the Australian Government are on the operational F/A-18 Hornet squadrons, as well as Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics

78 F-35 Lightning II

Royal Australian Air Force F-35A A35-001 in formation with US Air Force F-35A 12-5056/‘LF’ on June 23. Two Australian F-35A Lightning IIs are assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron ‘Bulldogs’ a component of the 56th Fighter Wing based at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. F-35A 12-5056/‘LF’ has tail markings for the 56th Fighter Wing commander. Matthew Short/Lockheed Martin

(AT&L) Frank Kendall in May. It will be dependent least 10%, based on our production plan profi le.” reliability, maintainability and software problems, upon international partners, such as Australia, Currently, the next tranche of F-35As for the but the progress remains positive and I am also signing up to the deal. RAAF (eight aircraft) is not due to be delivered confi dent we will have a good capability when the Australia’s F-35 Programme Manager, Air Vice- until 2018, which will enable training to gather aircraft enters service here in Australia.” Marshal Chris Deeble told AIR International that pace in the United States before aircraft arrive in signifi cant savings could result if the proposal Australia at the end of that year. Preparations and Timeline goes ahead. With regard to aircraft development, AVM for Australian Ops “If the US is prepared to enter into a block Deeble noted the programme was still on track Under the current schedule, the fi rst two aircraft buy, then it feels more confi dent about the F-35 to achieve F-35A initial operational capability are expected to be delivered to Australia at programme,” he said. (IOC) with the US Air Force in 2016, a milestone the end of 2018. They will start a period of “A block buy has the potential for us to realise that will be critical for the RAAF timeline. operational test and evaluation (OT&E) designed savings in terms of cost. The fi rst two aircraft “Overall I think we’re now in a diff erent part of to fi nd out how the aircraft will operate within were purchased for $126.7 each and we think the programme. While we’ve had issues in the the infrastructure of the Australian Defence the average cost across the 72 aircraft on order past, the technical issues that have arisen can Force. There will be an evaluation of how the will be in the region of $90 million per aircraft. now be resolved,” he said. F-35A’s capabilities interface with networks and “With a block buy of around 450 aircraft, we “We’re not necessarily achieving every one systems, and new facilities around the country. would expect to see savings to unit cost of at of the goals that we set ourselves, in terms of More aircraft will be delivered in 2019 to start

79 F-35 Lightning II

conversion of 2 Operational Conversion Unit Australia’s Industrial Footprint for the engine. (the training unit) and No.3 Squadron (the fi rst By the end of April this year, Australian industries “Airframe [MRO&U] will be shared in the operational unit) at RAAF Base Williamtown, had won $484 million worth of work in the North Asia/Pacifi c region between Japan and north of Sydney. production phase of the Joint Strike Fighter Australia. US and Japanese aircraft deployed in Australia’s IOC criteria are the ability to programme. The total is predicted to rise to the North Asia region will be maintained in Japan, conduct pilot and maintenance personnel around $2 billion by the time full-rate production but it’s highly likely that we will be supporting training in-house and having the fi rst squadron is realised in around 2020. deep maintenance for Korean and Singaporean declared as operational. However the onus is upon industry to remain aircraft here in Australia, as well as our own The next squadron to convert will be No.77 competitive in the international market place if airframes,” said AVM Deeble. Squadron at Williamtown, followed in the 2023 the predictions are to be realised. “We have also won the support contract for all timeframe by No.75 Squadron at RAAF Base “They [companies] are going to have to continue of the [F135] engines in the Asia-Pacifi c region Tindal in the Northern Territory. The fi nal RAAF being competitive through that ramp-up period, for at least the fi rst four or fi ve years, before Hornet will have been retired at that time. maintain themselves at that fi rst or second source there is a review to determine whether a facility “Some aircraft will initially stay in the United of supply level. If they can do so, there is potentially will need to be set up in Japan to support F-35s States as part of the training pool at Luke. We’ll be $4 billion worth of production opportunities alone in North Asia.” training pilots in the States until we set up our own by 2030,” AVM Deeble detailed. capability in Australia around October of 2020.” One undoubted success story involves Remaining Risk From an infrastructure standpoint, the fi rst Marand, an Australian precision engineering Risk still remains in the overall F-35 programme, earth was turned at Williamtown in early May, company, which manufactures the trailer for particularly with the aircraft’s software and the as part of an AUD $950 million redevelopment removing or installing the Pratt & Whitney Autonomic Logistics Information System. programme at the base. Work will include F135 engine. Every F-35 main operating base To meet its IOC, Australia’s F-35As will rely upon construction of a combined squadron operations throughout the world and every US Navy warship the timely delivery of the Block 3i software, which facility to house No.3 and No.77 Squadron, and capable of embarking F-35s will have at least one essentially has the same level of capability delivered an integrated training centre that will eventually of the company’s trailers on its books. by Block 2B currently used by the US Marine Corps’ house six full mission simulator (FMS) domes. In 2011 Marand also won a contract from BAE F-35B, albeit hosted on diff erent processors. Maintenance facilities include a low-observable Systems to manufacture 722 vertical tail sets, the One issue with hosting the latest version of coating repair shop. fi rst of which was installed on US Air Force F-35A Block 3i software on the new processors has “In the not too distant future, Williamtown 13-5067 (c/n AF-73), which made its maiden fl ight resulted in the reversion to an earlier drop, is going to look very diff erent to the base it is from Fort Worth on July 17. which AVM Deeble says has less functionality today,” commented AVM Deeble. Defence Minister Kevin Andrews announced than desired and is currently restricting the Facilities will also be built at Tindal to support in February that Australian industry had also extent of training operations at Luke. No.75 Squadron, including a training facility to won major sustainment contracts in the Asia- “That is being incrementally addressed now house two FMS domes. Pacifi c region, to maintain F-35 airframes and and we envisage it will be the middle of next year Elsewhere, capital works will be undertaken components, including the F135 engine. before we’re up to speed with where Block 3i at RAAF Bases Townsville and Scherger in BAE Systems will be the South Pacifi c software should be, to support training and initial Queensland; Pearce, Curtin and Learmonth in Regional Depot Airframe, Maintenance, Repair, weapons training,” he explained. Western Australia; Edinburgh in South Australia; Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) provider “While our current software does not have Darwin in the Northern Territory and the for the F-35, beginning in 2018, and Tasman full functionality, it will very rapidly catch up weapons facility at Myambat in New South Wales. Aviation Enterprises will provide similar support to the Marines’ [Block] 2B baseline software

Royal Australian Air Force F-35A A35-002 taxies back to the fl ight line after an eight-ship training sortie from Luke Air Force Base. Simon Bullimore

80 F-35 Lightning II

F-35A A35-001 (c/n AU-01) and A35-002 (c/n AU-02) parked under sun shelters on the Luke Air Force Base flight line. Both aircraft carry their US Air Force serial numbers (12-5060 and 12-5061) on the forward landing doors. Simon Bullimore

and will represent a good training and initial don’t want to expose fi fth-generation capabilities but I’m not as concerned as I have been about operational capability.” and tactics in an open environment unless you aircraft maturity, though will continue to monitor Arguably the biggest challenge to be faced really have to, so simulation will become even progress. I am concerned about the support by F-35 operators around the world will be fully more fundamental to the way we operate the system, the sustainment system and integrating understanding and harnessing the fi fth-generation F-35 and much more signifi cant than it has been the capability into Australia. That’s really where technology in the aircraft, and then integrating that for legacy aircraft,” said the AVM. the big challenges exist now,” concluded AVM capability across the wider defence force. “It is a complex programme to say the least Deeble. Nigel Pittaway US Air Force experience to date has shown the F-35 training continuum, in a mature state, The Australian F-35As based at Luke Air results in about 18 fl ights and 42 simulator rides Force Base have the tail markings of the – compared with more than 70 fl ights and around RAAF’s 2 Operational Conversion Unit ap- 20 simulator sessions traditionally employed in plied. Simon Bullimore the training of F-16 pilots. Most of the pilots who have trained on the F-35 to date are, however, experienced aviators with hundreds, if not thousands, of fl ight hours on legacy types. Eff ective use of simulation will also become far more critical, not just in pilot training, but also in high-end exercises, where the full capability of the F-35 might not be reached due to the sheer logistical challenge and cost of assembling an aggressor force. “We’ll be fl ying the F-35 as a four-ship on a routine basis, so if you are fl ying a four-ship you have to generate the equivalent aggressor force. Flying JSF against JSF, as the US Air Force found out with the F-22, is not good training value,” explained AVM Deeble. Another issue will be the problem of operating the fi fth-generation F-35 in coalitions, both in exercises and on operations, where it may not be desirable to reveal the full capabilities of the aircraft. “It is very hard in the real world, because you

81 F-35 Lightning II Grim Reapers’ First Desert Calling

Strike Fighter Squadron 101 F-35C BuNo 168845/‘NJ107’ and two Super Hornets assigned to the Naval Avia- tion Warfi ghting Development Center return to Fallon after a mission on the local range complex. US Navy

82 F-35 Lightning II

or two weeks in late August and early Fallon Range Training Complex and enable VFA- Desert Missions September, aircraft of Strike Fighter 101 to develop and refine tactics, techniques Two events were scheduled per day, each pitting Squadron 101 (VFA-101) ‘The Grim and procedures for the F-35C with the Naval a mix of two F-35Cs alongside two to four FA- FReapers’ took to the skies of Northern Aviation Warfighting Development Center 18E/F Super Hornets against a mix of opposing Nevada for the first time. (NAWDC formerly the Naval Strike Air Warfare Red Air aircraft. The missions focused on In a historic first detachment of the US Navy’s Center or NSAWC). defensive counter air (DCA) to defend a known F-35C Lightning II from its home station at The Detachment involved missions flown threat sector for a Carrier Strike Group (CSG). Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, the unit deployed with a variety of adversary aircraft from The flights were also designed to explore the Grim Reapers’ four jets and a complete package of support NAWDC and F-5N Tigers assigned to Fighter viability and effectiveness of Navy fighter integration equipment to Naval Composite Squadron 13 (VFC-13) ‘Saints’. tactics and to assess how well an average fleet pilot Air Station Fallon Other aircraft from NAWDC and F/A-18F Super could successfully implement them. to focus on the Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron 154 In addition, VFA-101’s pilots evaluated integration of the (VFA-154) ‘Black Knights’ augmented the F-35Cs their ability to identify, locate and share data F-35C with the in the blue air role. generated by the F-35C’s sensors with other

83 F-35 Lightning II

The fi fth-generation F-35C is laden with technology and cutting-edge systems but the tyres still smoke when the rubber meets the runway. All photos Scott Dworkin unless noted airborne aircraft. The F-35C’s main sensors and took more than a year to plan and co- integration [FI]. FI is the realm of how best to are the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81 active ordinate. The fi rst Fallon detachment was a leverage the strengths of fourth-generation electronically scanned array radar, Lockheed much-needed stepping stone in the F-35C’s aircraft with those of fi fth-generation. The US Air Martin’s AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture evolution, the results from which will be used by Force has pioneered FI in how to best integrate System, Lockheed Martin’s AN/AAQ-40 Electro- the Navy to plan future, larger detachments and F-22 Raptor with F-15C and F-16 aircraft.” Optical Targeting System and the BAE Systems eventual integration into a Carrier Air Wing. This provided Top Gun with a logical stepping AN/ASQ-239 Barracuda Electronic Warfare Cdr James Christie, Commanding Offi cer of stone, and in March the school hosted a TAC System. VFA-101, described the planning required to D&E detachment at Fallon involving FA-18E/F Tests included evaluation of the sensors and get the squadron to Fallon: “Preparation for Super Hornets from Air Test and Evaluation link communication with other F-35Cs, FA-18E/F the Fallon Tactical Development and Evaluation Squadron 9 (VX-9) ‘Vampires’ based at Naval Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. The [TAC D&E] began in July. The genesis of the Air Warfare Station China Lake, California and synergy between these aircraft and others in the detachment makes perfect sense when you F-22 Raptors from the 422nd Test & Evaluation CSG is where a lot of thinking is being invested understand one of the primary missions of the Squadron based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. by the NAWDC staff to ensure lethal strike power Navy Fighter Weapons School [Top Gun] is to Top Gun tested and evaluated their is available to commanders across the range of develop next-generation tactics for the strike burgeoning FI tactics to see how well they military operations. fi ghter community. worked with the fi fth-generation F-22. Similar Data points gathered during the detachment “That has primarily focused on F/A-18 testing with the F-35C was not possible during will help to validate the reliability of the link employment for the last 15 years. Starting about the fi rst Fallon Det because of operating structure between the aircraft types, and three years ago a small cadre within Top Gun limitations associated with the then-loaded Block determine the lethality and survivability for both began to develop F-35 tactics alongside the US 2A software. But the March detachment yielded the fourth- and fi fth-generation aircraft. Air Force and US Marine Corps. many valuable lessons which were used to refi ne The detachment to Fallon was a critical “Top Gun’s involvement with the Air Force FI tactics that needed to be validated with Navy undertaking at this juncture in the Navy’s F-35C Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures [AFTTP 3-1] F-35C aircraft. development. Deploying jets and their necessary for F-35 has spurred innovative thinking within Cdr Christie told AIR International: “The support equipment had never been undertaken its entire staff , with particular focus on fi ghter opportunity for F-35 validation presented itself

84 F-35 Lightning II

“When I came on board in 2012 we were small and didn’t have anybody qualifi ed to do anything on the aircraft. We were for the most part watching Lockheed Martin maintainers do everything. Since then we’ve qualifi ed 25 Collateral Duty Inspectors [CDIs] at the squadron from scratch. We’ve also qualifi ed the very fi rst Navy F-35 Plane Captain and one Quality Assurance Representative [QAR]. What we’ve done in just a couple years has been remarkable. “We took a jet from their [Lockheed Martin’s] maintenance and made it our jet. We worked on it as our jet, so instead of us standing over their shoulder, as in the early days, they were now standing over our shoulder to make sure we did everything the right way, acting as quality assurance. “Then we pulled another jet from them and did the same thing until we had all four jets on the line. “While we worked on those four jets new A sailor assigned to VFA-101 refuels an F-35C on people arrived on the squadron who were the Fallon fl ight line. fully qualifi ed on the aircraft. As the number of aircraft assigned grew, we [VFA-101] still during the fi rst two weeks in September. We a deployment was considered, from what tools to scheduled all maintenance on the four original were able to load Block 2B software into our bring, and not to bring – and fi guring out how to aircraft and Lockheed Martin maintained all the aircraft, which brought about an expanded fl ight communicate information over the networks back newer airframes. envelope [6 G, Mach 1.2] suffi cient to support and forth between Eglin and Fallon – to fi nding “When our big Aviation Maintenance useful FI testing. suitable airfi elds to land at for refuelling (the F-35C Inspection (AMI) took place about three months “Top Gun extended an invitation to VFA-101 to is not cleared at this point for air refuelling) during ago, the Navy inspectors looked us over and support a planned TAC D&E detachment when the cross-country fl ight. issued their report, which stated we were ready there were no air wing training detachments to conduct maintenance on our own. In one or strike fi ghter tactics instructor (SFTI) classes Maintenance month we went from maintaining four planes to running. Conveniently, this coincided with Master Chief Jeff Rushing, who has served with maintaining all of them.” a relatively low demand on pilot production VFA-101 since November 2012 and is slated to The maintenance department’s ability to for VFA-101, as well as a period of strong jet be the fi rst F-35C Maintenance Master Chief at carry out the required aircraft maintenance at availability. Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, described an airfi eld away from its home station enabled “VFA-101 jumped at the opportunity to some of the massive leaps in capability the the Navy to decide now was the right time to contribute to the development of FI tactics with squadron has seen over the past two years send the squadron on its fi rst detachment. its F-35C aircraft. The fl ights were promised to – capabilities that enabled the Fallon Det to Additionally, in early August, VFA-101’s F-35C build upon the test points achieved in March, become a reality. aircraft were also upgraded to Block 2B software and heralded the very fi rst time that the Naval “About two years ago we had four aircraft confi guration, giving greater capability in time for Aviation Warfi ghting Development Center hosted on our line at Eglin, and one at Pax River, doing deployment to Fallon. F-35C aircraft in support of organic Navy FI some testing at that time,” he said. “We kept Master Chief Rushing continued: “It was a tactics development.” those four for a long time – that’s what we challenge for us to get the 2B software in the In addition to fl ight operations, VFA-101 worked with. As production at the Fort Worth aircraft, get them fl own, get them turned around maintenance and support personnel were tasked factory increased, new aircraft arrived in pretty and then get them ready to come out here in with learning what is needed to work on the F-35C quick succession up to the 17 we currently have such a short period of time. We started loading once away from its home station. Every aspect of on the ramp. the software very close to coming here, got all

Grim Reaper F-35C Lightning IIs on the Fallon fl ight line for the fi rst time.

85 F-35 Lightning II

A vision of future fl ight operations at Fallon: two F-35Cs lined up on the threshold of the 14,000ft long runway 31L. four jets done, but we’re still working out the “VFA-101 is training for the fi rst time at Fallon to learn “The role of the NAWDC is for pilots and their changes that 2B brings. more about tactics and the capabilities of the F-35C. crews to be properly trained when their squadrons “Another challenge faced at Fallon is working For NAWDC, this is only the beginning. The aircraft is are deployed aboard aircraft carriers. Although with the maintenance computer system [ALIS going through various tests and continues to mature. the F-35C is the Navy’s jet of the future, the Super or Autonomic Logistics Information System], the In a few years more training cycles [that involve the Hornet will be around for 20 or 30 more years. The main system for which is set up at Eglin. F-35 and its increasing capabilities] will ensure pilots F-35Cs, the EA-18G, the Super Hornets will need to “Because a lot of the data is going through will know their roles and will be familiar with the jet. work together in the Navy within the joint force and secure internet, getting information back and forth to the computer through the internet or via VPN has been a challenge. Over time I think we’ll fi nd a more effi cient way to communicate with the system. “The aircraft held up well at Fallon. The tool system we use is so diff erent from what we’re used to on other aircraft and presented a challenge to fi gure out how to pack up the tools for the Det. There have been a couple tools we really wished we had out, ones that we just don’t use very often at Eglin. “Once the Det is over, the departments will write up their recommendations and discuss what needs to be done to fi x it for the next time. The important part for us as maintainers on this fi rst Det is what the Navy takes away, and what we learn for future events like this. The challenge is it’s ever-evolving. “We may come here next time with a new version of ALIS, new ground rules on what we can and can’t do in ALIS or a new version of software in the plane. That’s to be expected on such a new piece of equipment. “The sailors in this squadron are working with the pinnacle of technology in Naval aviation. We are doing things on a daily basis that we have all never seen or done before, and writing the book for the future of the F-35.” Range Complex The Fallon Range Training Complex is the Navy’s crown jewel operational training range for carrier- based tactical aircraft. The airspace facilitates air-to- air combat and its well equipped electronic warfare range provides realistic training and feedback for pilots and aircrew. The P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS/TCTS) used by the Navy at Fallon is designed to provide secure, real-time and post-mission tracking of aircraft using the range. The system displays a live-air picture, records mission data and relays time, space and positional information of aircraft participating in air-to-air and air-to-ground sorties. VFA-101 did not use the system during this Det. In the future the F-35C will use an internally mounted version of the Cubic system designed to provide the same tracking capability and maintain the aircraft’s stealth characteristics. Speaking about VFA-101s trip to Fallon, Rear Admiral Scott Conn, commander of NAWDC, said:

86 F-35 Lightning II

with our partners.” As this issue went to press, VFA-101 was halfway through its two-week detachment to Fallon. A full evaluation of the successes of the exercise may take many months to determine, but Cdr Christie refl ected on the lessons learned so far: “During the fi rst week of the Fallon Det, we have fl own F-35C aircraft embedded in fl ights with Top Gun aircrew fl ying fl eet-representative Super Hornets to see how well they communicate to each other through tactical data links, and to evaluate the effi cacy of FI tactics. “It’s too early to make any defi nitive conclusions about the data collected, but our initial sense is the tactics are sound, and the Navy will greatly benefi t A vision of future flight operations at Fallon: two F-35Cs lined up on the threshold of the 14,000ft long runway 31L. from a blended fi fth- with fourth-generation fl ight of aircraft in order to maximise our lethality. “The Navy’s FA-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft are extremely capable platforms with mature software and a proven combat track record. We’re beginning to see how that fi ts into the unique capabilities that F-35C brings to the fi ght, so that we can maximise the potency of our future Carrier Strike Groups.” This shot shows the nose landing gear and the F-35C’s distinctive twin-wheel confi guration. Scott Dworkin

87 F-35 Lightning II

Going Skinny

IR International was the first magazine conducted a thorough examination of the US Marine Corps to 17 Squadron. to run an article on the UK’s F-35B test standards and practices set up by the UK He explained: “Theoretically, that was the squadron. We ran that report in the team. Wg Cdr Beck told AIR International: “It’s a first autonomous operation we conducted AMarch 2015 issue, timed to mark No.17 fifth-gen system, we’re in America, eight hours’ because we were using engineering practices in Squadron’s centenary on February 1. At the time difference from the UK. There were a lot accordance with UK sovereign jurisdiction. That time the unit had one aircraft, F-35B ZM135 (c/n of unknowns facing us. The team didn’t give was a massive moment for us and for the UK.” BK-01), and had begun flying missions under UK us many areas to further investigate.” Last During the next three weeks 17 Squadron sovereign capability from its home at Edwards November Air Vice Marshal Gary Waterfall, Air engineers undertook acceptance checks to Air Force Base, California. Officer Commanding 1 Group, gave Wg Cdr Beck ensure the aircraft and its mission systems met a formal endorsement that the squadron was UK military airworthiness standards. Inspection ready to receive its first F-35B. At that time BK-01 Before aircraft BK-01 was flown from the Fleet was at Cherry Point undergoing modification to Mission One Support Center East at Marine Corps Air Station the standard required for operational evaluation. When BK-01 was flown at Edwards for the first Cherry Point in North Carolina by Wg Cdr Jim Wg Cdr Beck delivered the aircraft to Edwards time on February 4, the UK made history as the Beck, OC 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron, the on January 13. He said the moment a British first nation outside America to fly an F-35 under unit underwent a major inspection. engineer chocked the wheels at Edwards, the sovereign jurisdiction. Wg Cdr Beck described An assurance team from HQ 1 Group aircraft was automatically signed over from the it as a significant event for the UK and, more

92 F-35 Lightning II

Dan Stijovich

importantly, the whole programme. for fi ve days with faults that were so in-depth change for the engineers to understand how The fi rst mission was fl own for continuation we had to wait for the programme to advise the sharp and acidic a pilot debrief can be, but we training of the engineers and the pilot. It rectifi cation method. That’s where the intricacies conduct everything with total humility. involved a simulated air-to-surface strike and of our system come in. Lockheed Martin writes “We need to learn quickly and everything was the start point for a series of subsequent to the UK Lightning Project Team outlining the [maintenance procedures and problems] has fl ights, each increasing in levels of complexity. rectifi cation. The UK team then confi rms the to be packaged up and sent back to the UK and Squadron engineers would turn the jet overnight rectifi cation to be safe and notifi es me. We don’t into the JPO [Joint Program Offi ce] to change ready for the next day’s mission. The one-per- do anything [to the aircraft] that isn’t endorsed engineering systems.” day fl ight schedule continued for a couple of by the Lightning Project Team back at Abbey Gp Capt Glenn Littlejohns, the UK’s F-35B weeks until Wg Cdr Beck took the decision to Wood and thereby conform to UK legislation.” duty delivery holder based at Edwards, requires launch two daily missions with a standard turn in To strengthen the understanding of new assurance for each phase of maintenance between. procedures by the engineering team, Wg Cdr developed by 17’s engineering team. This is “To do that on a new jet, still in an embryonic Beck implemented a daily in-brief followed by provided in a service paper written by Wg Cdr phase of its development, was another a big an out-brief. “We analyse what we’ve done. We Beck and his staff , which the Group Captain moment for us and doubled our profi ciency of analyse the performance and draw out what’s authorises. turning the jet,” said Wg Cdr Beck. unnecessary. No one gets away with anything. “We’ve got a unique system that doesn’t “There were periods when the jet went down No one can hide from anything. It’s a cultural exist in the UK. There’s one delivery duty

93 F-35 Lightning II

Hot pit refuelling enables an F-35B to upload 13,000lb of fuel and take off for a second sortie within 30 minutes.

the ground-based pantograph fuelling system. A Royal Navy technician, assisted by a fuel spe- Wg Cdr Beck said: “We are the only nation that cialist, connects the hose to the aircraft ahead constantly does hot pit refuelling when we want of a hot pit refuelling. to surge our fl ying. The jet fl ew four times a day on four missions.” STOVL Qualifications Sqn Ldr Frankie Buchler was qualifi ed to fl y vertical landings in the F-35B when he arrived at 17 Squadron as an instructor pilot. Sqn Ldr Buchler was the fi rst RAF pilot to learn to fl y the F-35B with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) ‘Warlords’. At the time of Sqn Ldr Buchler’s arrival on 17 Squadron, the two pilots assigned, Wg Cdr Beck and Lt Cdr Ian Tidball,

F-35B BK-02 in the hot pit at Edwards uploading fuel from an R-11 bowser truck.

holder, one squadron boss and one squadron, complete a second fl ight before recovering to which means the level of scrutiny is great,” the fl ight line to turn. commented Wg Cdr Beck. The same fl y-pit-fl y routine was repeated in the afternoon wave and doubled the number of Hot Pits hours fl own each day. When AIR International At the end of March Wg Cdr Beck’s team started last visited Edwards in early May, 17 Squadron hot pit refuelling. The term ‘hot pit’ refers to a was fl ying F-35B ZM136 (c/n) BK-02 on a similar refuelling station that tops the aircraft’s tanks up schedule: the aircraft uploaded 13,000lb of fuel while the pilot remains in the aircraft with the in the hot pit and was airborne again within 30 engine running. Using the hot pit after the fi rst minutes. Initially, the UK team conducted hot pit fl ight each day enabled Wg Cdr Beck’s team to refuelling with a fuel bowser before switching to

94 F-35 Lightning II

A Royal Navy technician marshals BK-02 on to the spot for hot pit refuelling. were not qualifi ed to conduct vertical landings. airborne, landing. We completed six vertical the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy chains of To allow both offi cers to gain the qual, the landings on each sortie.” command of the aircraft’s capability prior to team wrote a syllabus, tested it in the simulator, declaring IOC at the end of 2018. Block 3F submitted a service paper and received an Tactical Formations testing is expected to be completed close to endorsement from the UK’s Lightning Project In June, UK pilots flew their first high-end that timeframe. Team. The UK syllabus was a phase-based tactical missions with the United States Air Before the Edwards-based Joint Operational adaption of the US Marine Corps course fl own by Force using aircraft BK-02. Mission sets Test Team (JOTT) starts the Block 3F operational VMFAT-501. included air-to-air, surface-to-air, suppression test period, the squadrons assigned are fl ying During a week-long detachment to Marine and destruction of enemy air defences and valuable missions to progress the current Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, Sqn Ldr close air support. software loads before Block 3F is introduced. Buchler was able to teach the two pilots jet, The COMAOs (Combined Air Operations) This allows 17 Squadron to help form the semi-jet borne and full-jet borne fl ying. were not staged as part of the operational confi guration of Block 3F. Wg Cdr Beck explained: “We were getting test programme but as spin-up missions Squadrons within the JOTT are the 31st airborne, landing, getting airborne again, landing ahead of the official start of Block 3F testing. Test and Evaluation Squadron US Air Force, again, going to the hot pits, airborne, landing, No.17 Squadron’s participation will inform the US Marine Corps’ equivalent; Marine

95 F-35 Lightning II

Aircraft BK-02 performs a short take off at Edwards.

Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron any system, including the F-35B, into service. “I don’t jump between modules during a 22 (VMX-22) ‘Argonauts’; 323 Test, Evaluation Each ITEAP is written in accordance with public mission, but report against each one because and Standardisation Squadron of the Royal procurement legislation and requires evidence we modularise each chapter of the tactics Netherlands Air Force and No.17 Test and to support formal acceptance. “It needs manual. It’s a constant cycle,” said Wg Cdr Beck. Evaluation Squadron, Royal Air Force. tactics, value, doctrine, and all of the defence All tactics evaluated by 17 Squadron are In June 2014 Wg Cdr Beck and his team were lines of development answered,” explained 17 focused on the UK’s IOC requirement. Nobody tasked to compile a tactics manual to meet Squadron’s boss. from the RAF would discuss criteria for the the UK’s requirements. All fl ying evaluation to Wg Cdr Beck said that 17 Squadron will UK’s IOC for No.617 Squadron. According date is based on BK-01 and BK-02 in Block 1B deliver the evidence and the tactical manual to Hansard the IOC criteria is defi ned as confi guration and conducted in parallel with required ahead of No.617 Squadron’s build-up. operating from a land base and having 16 the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force. “They will need the manuals and doctrine many crews and ten jets ready to go to war by Wg Cdr Beck told AIR International: “We are months before IOC so they can start working December 31, 2018. phasing each module [mission set] in as new to it and building up.” capabilities are introduced on the jet and Each module is fi rst tested in a synthetic Tactical Pairs then feed our results back to the UK team to environment and a report is issued. The The fi rst tactical formation with BK-01 and develop the tactics manual.” module will be perfected and then re-tested BK-02 was fl own in July: a notable achievement To achieve this objective, the Ministry of in a high-fi delity simulator. The module is that involved launching, pitting, turning, and Defence uses an Integrated Test Evaluation then fl own, revised if required, refl own in the relaunching two aircraft. and Acceptance Plan (ITEAP) to formally accept simulator followed by the aircraft. Before BK-02 entered Block 2B modifi cation in

Aircraft BK-02 performs a short take off at Edwards.

96 F-35 Lightning II

mid-August, Wg Cdr Beck declared the squadron F-35B ZM136 (c/n BK-02) pulls out of a barn in ready with full operating capability for test. As the area of the base allocated to Lightning II AIR International went to press, 17 Squadron’s operational test. boss was preparing for the UK’s Military Aviation Authority to run a fi nal assessment of the squadron’s strategic oversight, supervision and structure. During August, BK-01 participated in a series of high-end multinational COMAOs involving four F-16s, two F-35s, a KDC-10 tanker and four diff erent types of surface-to-air missile systems. Six aircraft were from the Royal Netherlands Air Force: four F-16s detached to Edwards from the detachment at Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing based at Tucson International Airport, the KDC-10 tanker and a single F-35A. Red Air adversaries for each mission were provided by contractor-operated A-4 Skyhawk fi ghters. The fi fth-generation F-35s provided fi ghter escort for the F-16s, but the Dutch F-35A hosted the strategic picture of the battle space and fed the data to the strikers. Host is a tactical term that refers to target identifi cation and placing those targets on the link for handover to the strikers. The F-35s entered the target area despite the presence of the SA-2 Guideline, SA-6 Gainful and SA-8 Gecko surface-to-air missiles due to their low-observable credentials. This any regenerated aircraft [the A-4s] that were against the UK’s rig of sensors called Robocop. kind of target ingress is colloquially known as coming up, and then we led the F-16s out of This was 17 Squadron’s fi rst full data-gathering ‘going in skinny’. the area. It was a proper fourth and fi fth-gen trial. The aircraft was fl own against the rig The boss explained: “We were able to shape integration trial. in important profi les and regimes of fl ight. the battle space and fi nd targets by using the “Integration between F-35 and F-16 was “That’s at the cutting edge of research and the synthetic aperture radar [SAR] mode. We were impressive and, in some areas, above our development of the tactics,” said Wg Cdr Beck. linking those back to the F-16s and taking out aspirations.” Wg Cdr Beck was also surprised at pop-up threats so the F-16s could go in and the number of targets he was able to host. Aircraft Modifications strike the targets we’d identifi ed. At the same In late August the BK-01 fl ew signature trials, Between March and June aircraft BK-01 time we were spinning roles, suppressing a part of the Joint Strike Fighter programme underwent modifi cations for three months

F-35B ZM135 (c/n BK-01) emerges from the hangar after a maintenance period. The aircraft is the only one currently being fl own by 17 Squadron at Edwards; BK-02 is undergoing upgrade to Block 2B confi guration.

97 F-35 Lightning II

the engine and LiftFan, installing new mission Aircraft BK-02 performs a short computers, confi guration changes and some take off at Edwards. structural measures. With 75 extremely capable personnel assigned, a modifi cation of this nature is a major test of the squadron’s depth of knowledge. Wg Cdr Beck said it is vital for his team to conduct the upgrade. Aircraft BK-01 will receive the same upgrade following completion of work on BK-02 and is expected to emerge in the early part of next year. That’s another significant point in 17 Squadron’s calendar: the third UK test aircraft, ZM138 (c/n BK-04) configured to Block 3i standard, is expected to arrive at Edwards. August was 17 Squadron’s most successful month to date with more than 30 hours logged despite having only BK-02 available. In February the squadron fl ew just 15 hours. “That shows our expertise and knowledge is growing because we’re able to fix or service the jet much quicker. I’m content with our development,” said Wg Cdr Beck. Mark Ayton during which time the engine was returned to Pratt & Whitney for analysis and to be rebuilt. Because the jet was confi gured to the early- build Block 1B confi guration, a spare engine of a similar standard was not available, and a Block 2B engine cannot simply be fi tted in Block 1B aircraft. While BK-01’s engine was removed the engineering team used the opportunity to modify the LiftFan. This was the fi rst time the team had removed an engine and a fan. The aircraft emerged from its modifi cations and returned to fl ight operations in June. Shortly after this, BK-02 entered upgrade to Block 2B standard at Edwards, a work programme that is expected to be complete in November. “The upgrade is designed and maintained by the Lightning Project Team at Abbey Wood, which has tasked 17 Squadron to do the modifications albeit augmented by Lockheed Martin engineers,” said Wg Cdr Beck. UK technicians use an Eagle TT-8 all-wheel drive tow tractor to move the F-35Bs around the fl ight Modifying an aircraft from Block 1B to Block line and hangar at Edwards. 2B, known as an H mod, involves removing

98 UK technicians use an Eagle TT-8 all-wheel drive tow tractor to move the F-35Bs around the fl ight line and hangar at Edwards.

US Navy plane handlers move an F-35B around the hangar deck of USS Wasp. Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations Italian Job F-35 Lightning II

Above: An aerial view of the FACO plant in July 2012 showing the wing-set production facility in the foreground and the fi nal assembly and fl ight check plant behind. CePoVa via Riccardo Niccoli

he Province of Novara in the Italian the cost of acquiring the F-35 aircraft. The US region of Piedmont is an unlikely Government accepted the Italian proposal to location to be associated with the build a FACO facility in Italy, under the guarantee F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter that the plant would be located on a military T(JSF) aircraft. It is however home to installation and controlled by the Italian Air Cameri Air Base, a former Aeronautica Militare Force to safeguard the industrial and military Italiana (Italian Air Force or AMI) Lockheed sensitivities of the F-35 programme. Cameri is F-104 Starfi ghter base, and now the location perfectly suited to meet these requirements. of a unique facility: the F-35 Final Assembly The base is assigned to the Air Force Logistic and Check Out factory known as the FACO. Command. It is the home of 1° RMV (Reparto The factory replicates the capability and Manutenzione Velivoli, or aircraft maintenance working process of Air Force Plant 4, the US wing), the technical unit that undertakes The Italian Job Government-owned plant in Fort Worth, Texas, maintenance and overhauls of the AMI EF.2000 wing-sets and 24 aircraft per year. run by Lockheed Martin. The FACO is the only and Tornado fl eets. Cameri is also located near The facility is divided into two main areas: one for F-35 assembly facility in the world outside of the many of the Italian defence companies involved wing production and the other for fi nal assembly, United States. in the F-35 programme. painting and pre-delivery checking of aircraft. The FACO agreement covers the production Italy has a 4% share in the development Terms and Conditions of wing-sets (originally 1,215, today 835) and phase of the F-35 programme valued at more The origin of Italian participation in the JSF the assembly of Italian and the Dutch aircraft. than $1.6 billion (to the end of 2014) and the programme dates back to 1996. The possibility It involves the US and Italian governments, PSFD phase is worth about $900 million. of gaining a substantial share of the production Lockheed Martin and Alenia Aermacchi as the The total cost of the FACO factory, which is activity came later. A preliminary memorandum prime contractor. owned by the Italian Ministry of Defence, is about of understanding with the US Government to $795 million. The value to Italy of the off set from take part in the Production, Sustainment and Statistics and Cost production activity is about $14.4 billion, about Follow-on Development (PSFD) phase was Located on the eastern part of the base, the 76% of the country’s F-35 acquisition cost. signed by the Italian Ministry of Defence in overall area of the FACO site is approximately 124 However, the Italian Government and the February 2007. The contract, which included acres (500,000m2) and comprises 21 buildings various aerospace companies involved are the establishment of a FACO, was signed in occupying 1.33 million sq ft (124,000m2). trying to gain an even better level of off set and June 2010 and was the conclusion of long and At full rate the FACO will provide work for 1,500 hope to reach 100%. detailed negotiations that aimed to bring as people, mostly highly specialised engineers, and Construction work of the factory started in much work share to Italy as possible to off set have a maximum planned production rate of 72 January 2011 and has remained on track ever

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An Italian Air Force F-35A on the assembly line at the FACO. Riccardo Niccoli Credit?

This F-35A is shown in one of the fl ight-check hangars at Cameri. Riccardo Niccoli The ItalianCredit? Job since. That’s a very important aspect of the FACO signed a $141 million contract covering wing Repair, Overhaul & Upgrade (MRO&U) activity project because it has to meet timing, quality and production and a number of other F-35 will begin. These sustainment activities cost criteria set out in Lockheed Martin’s ‘best components. Assembly of the first Italian Air represent the long term workload for the value’ concept to which all contractors within the Force F-35A AL-01 began on July 18, 2013. Cameri plant and will gradually transform the F-35 programme must adhere. The first complete wing-set was completed in FACO into a maintenance and overhaul centre. Most contracts in the programme are signed March. Following long discussions, Italy was able on an annual basis to help maintain the ‘best Delivery of aircraft AL-01, which made its to secure an agreement with the US DoD to value’ practice. Any contractor unable to meet maiden fl ight on September 7, is expected by the conduct F-35 maintenance until 2050 – a long- the terms of the agreement is unlikely to have its end of this year to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona term necessity for such a major plant faced with contract renewed. to start training Italian pilots. Work on aircraft an unknown and uncertain production run. In order to comply, work on the fi rst wing AL-02 started in November 2013, and should be Cameri will provide depot level maintenance components (destined for the fi nal assembly line delivered in the fi rst quarter of 2016. not only for AMI F-35s, but also those of other at Fort Worth) started at Cameri in 2009 thanks Alenia Aermacchi currently employs 750 European operators; Norway, the Netherlands, to the availability of a hangar owned by 1° RMV, workers at the FACO. Turkey, and the United Kingdom. which has been in use since July 2012. The MRO&U deal is part of the strategic The first fuselage section produced by Long-term Plan teaming agreement that could involve more the FACO was finished in 2012 followed The fi rst F-35A to be assigned to an AMI wing than 500 F-35 aircraft using Cameri for depot by the first wing box in early 2013. In May will be delivered to 32° Stormo at Amendola level maintenance, including those assigned 2013 Lockheed Martin and Alenia Aermacchi Air Base in 2016, the same year Maintenance, to the United States Air Forces in Europe.

89 F-35 Lightning II

Tooling used for F-35 wing production inside one of the assembly facilities. Riccardo Niccoli

This will allow the FACO/MRO&U to operate An Italian Air Force F-35A undergoing work in at full rate for the long term and safeguard the fi nal fi nishes facility at Cameri. thousands of Italian jobs through to 2050. Riccardo Niccoli Cameri will be one of only four MRO&U plants in the world, the others being Fort Worth, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and another in an as yet unannounced location in Australia. In February 2013, Alenia Aermacchi concluded a preliminary agreement to a contract that will cover the production of 119 wings for the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lots 6 to 11 worth $950 million. The initial agreement between the United States and Italy anticipated assembly of 216 aircraft at the FACO: 131 for Italy and 85 for the Netherlands. Today, both the Italian and Dutch F-35 requirements have been reduced to 90 and 37 respectively. Italy’s requirement is the minimum quantity that’s permitted under the terms of the deal with the United States Government: any further cut could lead to a review of the deal. This means the Italian authorities need an agreement to produce F-35 aircraft at Cameri for a third nation to make the facility cost eff ective. The current production plan already term production plan the lower the unit cost, Italy has yet to confi rm a procurement plan falls short of its full rate: in 2017 the FACO is which is why many countries have delayed for the 90 aircraft declared in 2012, but they expected to assemble fi ve aircraft rather than approving a fi nal fi rm order. Once other will be ordered over a 14-year period and the 15 originally planned and by 2019 output is nations commit to fi rm orders it is likely their delivered between 2015 and 2025: 26 in LRIP likely to be 16 aircraft as opposed to 24. aircraft will be included in production plans for Lots 6 to 11; 40 in multi-year contract 1, and It’s important to note that the F-35 the Cameri FACO. 24 in multi-year contract 2. Deliveries will peak procurement process diff ers from European Italy, however, cannot delay its orders with 11 aircraft delivered each year between programmes because it is based on the US for the F-35 because it is committed to the 2022 and 2024. Fiscal Year system. All aircraft are paid for on a production plan. The disadvantage of paying The Italian Defence Staff is reported to be year-by-year basis according to the total order the higher price of LRIP Lot aircraft is off set studying a diff erent plan that involves moving placed by the US DoD each fi scal year and by the industrial and economical benefi ts 11 LRIP aircraft to the 2020-2025 multi-year includes international customer orders. gained from the production and maintenance contracts. The later a nation orders aircraft in the long agreements for the FACO and MRO&U. Because all F-35 orders will be discussed

90 F-35 Lightning II

by the Italian Parliament, and included in the defence budget on an annual basis, in theory it is feasible order numbers could be reduced in some years and moved to other contracts beyond 2025. Like other nations interested in buying the F-35, Italy will have the option to purchase more after 2025. According to data provided by the AMI, the estimated unit recurring fl yaway costs for each F-35 ordered are:

Variant LRIP Lot Multi-year Contract F-35A 97.9 million (LRIP Lot 6) 65.2 million (buy year 2019) F-35B 105.5 million (LRIP Lot 6) 84.5 million (buy year 2021)

However, other sources reveal that the contracts include logistic support and spares. Italy looks like it will spend 1.9 billion for its fi rst 14 F-35s (a mix of A and B models from LRIP Lots 6 to 9) complete with engines, spares and Part of the assembly line at the FACO facility. CePoVa via Riccardo Niccoli logistic support. Centro Polifunzionale Velivoli Aerotattici The F-35 is destined to replace six types in Italian service – the AMX, AMX-T, AV-8B Plus, TAV-8B, Tornado ECR and Tornado IDS – which should yield savings in the total cost base for maintenance and logistics. To manage the F-35 programme eff ectively the AMI established a new command, the Centro Polifunzionale Velivoli Aerotattici (CePoVA, or multi-function tactical aircraft centre), at Cameri on November 21, 2012. The CePoVA is commanded by a General, reports to the 2nd Division of the Logistic Command and controls 1° RMV, and controls all maintenance units at Cameri including the new Nucleo Iniziale Formazione JSF (NIF-JSF or JSF Initial Training Unit). Its mission is to manage all technical and logistical issues of the F-35 and other AMI combat fl eets, the EF.2000 and The central fuselage section of US Air Force Tornado. F-35A AF-63. Riccardo Niccoli The Italian MoD and defence industry seem willing to defend the F-35 programme: which will not only provide the AMI with a big increase Parliament passed a new motion in support Italian Parliament continues to support all the in operational capability, but also safeguard of the F-35 programme, mirroring that of the decisions taken on the F-35 by its successive more than 10,000 jobs in 40 companies. new Government. It seems that, in spite of the governments over the last 17 years. At the beginning of July 2013, the Italian usual mix of politics and internal quarrels, the Riccardo Niccoli

An Italian Air Force F-35A after roll-out from the Cameri assembly line. Riccardo Niccoli

91 F-35 Lightning II

t Gen Jon Davis, Deputy Commandant for In the air-to-air scenarios flown by VMFA-121 Aviation, HQ Marine Corps had plenty to during the ORI, the F-35Bs flew against F-5N occupy his mind in July tracking 14 items Tiger IIs from Marine Fighter Training Squadron Lrelated to the F-35B Lightning II leading 401 (VMFT-401) ‘Snipers’ based at Yuma. The up to an initial operational capability declaration F-5Ns provided adversary support to the for the type. F-35Bs. One mission involved nine F-5Ns in an The US Marine Corps defined the criteria air-to-air duel with four F-35Bs. All nine Tigers for its F-35B initial operational capability were ‘killed’ by their fifth-generation opponents. (IOC) as a squadron of ten aircraft capable of And in accordance with the IOC checklist, VMFT- executing close air support, limited offensive 401 was the only other Marine Corps unit to fly and defensive counter air, air interdiction, air with VMFA-121 during its IOC work-up. support escort, armed reconnaissance and Gen Davis said at no time during its work- limited suppression of enemy air defences. up was VMFA-121 part of a MEU (Marine F-35B IOC was a specified objective with a Expeditionary Unit) and with the exception series of implied and essential tasks required of VMFT-401’s F-5Ns all of the Green Knights’ to meet the criteria. One of the implied tasks missions were flown by their own ranks. The was the ability to go to sea with the aircraft. Lt squadron is continuing operations at Yuma and Gen Davis told AIR International: “We had to in the coming months will deploy to Marine demonstrate we could operate successfully Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twenty Nine from a sea base.” And that was the reason Palms in California for eight weeks in support of why the Marine Corps undertook Operational an integrated training exercise. Test Phase One at sea (OT I) with six F-35Bs “They’re also validating a WTI [Weapons and deployed aboard the USS Wasp in May. Tactics Instructor] class to make sure we’ve got Gen Davis explained: “We tracked the items that right. Then we’re going to fly lots of sorties and closed them from red to yellow to green integrated with helicopters and jets throughout [the colour coding used] to make sure we were the entire WTI between September and late covered on all of them and also some of the long- October. Then we’ll run our first two F-35B lead items required to modify aircraft to Block students through WTI in the spring of 2016,” 2B configuration. A big part [of the effort] was said the Deputy Commandant. getting the modified airplanes to the squadron A JTAC [Joint Terminal Attack Controller] was so the pilots and the maintainers could learn how used for the close air support event and tested they were going to employ the airplane tactically control of the F-35Bs with both voice and digital in order to achieve our objectives.” communications. According to Gen Davis, the Lt Gen Davis told the author he was pretty performance of VMFA-121’s pilots was better confident the timeline would be made but in terms of time on target and weapon delivery conceded that lots of people were implying accuracy than legacy platforms. he would declare IOC regardless of where his “In the armed reconnaissance event, they did service was on the checklist just to meet a July incredibly well against a double-digit SAM [surface- deadline. Gen Davis was resolute that wasn’t to-air missile] threat. Not only did they find their what the US Marine Corps was going to do: “I targets, but they also dealt with an SA-11. We went back to my RAF days with 3(F) Squadron wouldn’t be able to fly over a target defended with in Germany. Before we declared ourselves such as SAM system using legacy aircraft.” operational to NATO we had an operational The inspection team completed VMFA-121’s readiness inspection. So we [the Marine Corps] ORI on July 14 and then spent two weeks set an operational readiness inspection to serve evaluating the spares posture and how long it as a capstone event.” takes to deliver spares to the point of departure The ORI was implemented to determine if and forward from there. Gen Davis said Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA- the biggest concern was whether the depth 121) ‘Green Knights’, the first F-35B fleet of spare parts was available to support the squadron, could do close air support, armed maintenance requirements for deployment. reconnaissance, air interdiction, offensive and “That took us the most time. First we wanted defensive counter air and to the degree of to make sure we are fit to fight and then able to fidelity required. stand and fight.” An extensive maintenance inspection was included based on very detailed inspection checklists issued by Commander Naval Air Forces. A team of experienced F-35 officers from Headquarters Marine Corps and the training unit Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) ‘Warlords’ were tasked to pick five random topics from the checklist. If any problem was found in any area they were instructed to open up another. In addition to the team’s own work, squadron pilots and maintainers sat exams on safety, procedures and tactics. “We gave them a very tight timeline to fly the five mission sets and wanted to test the ability of all of VMFA-121’s pilots to fly the profiles. Everybody flew simulation and live events in the airplane. In some cases we were able to add more threats into the simulator,” explained Gen Davis, adding that the maintainers knocked it out of the park and the pilots did incredibly well Semper Fi in their simulator and flight events.

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Plans for the Fleet Lieutenant General Jon Davis Deputy Block 3F we get not only software and more Commandant for Aviation. US Marine Corps With VMFA-121 declared IOC Gen Davis is weapons, but a full operating envelope. The now seeking deployment opportunities for high-end fight requires fifth-gen airplanes the squadron to further test the F-35B and to knock down air defence systems, enemy its various systems. He praised the quality of fighters and go for the hardest targets: that’s the unit and seeks to extend that to all F-35 what we’re going for. squadrons that subsequently stand up for pilots Gen Davis also spoke about employing the and most importantly the maintainers. “We have F-35B once an air defence system is knocked maintainers who are really experienced on the down and the need for low observable radar airplane so we’ll pull some people out of 121 to signature has been diminished allowing stand up VMFA-211. We’ve already picked the carriage of weapons on the external pylons. Commanding Offi cer for that squadron.” “Now I’ve got a fourth-gen airplane with fifth- Marine Attack Squadron 211 ‘Wake Island gen sensors, but carrying 3,000 pounds more Avengers’ is an AV-8B Harrier-equipped unit ordnance than an F/A-18. It’s a bomb truck currently assigned to Marine Air Group 13 at with STOVL capability. Once back aboard Yuma. It is due stand up as the second F-35B the ship we can remove the pylons, make unit at Yuma next year. “After that, 121 will it stealthy again, and go out to the next hot deploy ten aircraft to Japan in January 2017 in a spot. No other airplane in the world gives permanent change of station to Marine Corps Air me that kind of capability, that kind of agility. Station Iwakuni. When that happens VMFA-122 We’re still trying to determine the impact of will stand down as an F/A-18 squadron [based at that and make sure we extract maximum Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort] and stand up value from this thing which is going to make as the third F-35B squadron at Yuma. the MAGTF [Marine Air Ground Task Force] Gen Davis explained how all the Marine Corps’ much more effective. F-35Bs will be modifi ed to Block 2B standard, Equipped with a suite of high-performance and a lot will be upgraded to Block 3i and Block sensors (radar, EOTS, DAS, EW) the US Marine 3F confi guration. “By January 2019 every F-35 Corps’ challenge is determining how the in the Marine Corps needs to be in a common information gathered by the F-35B is shared Block 3F confi guration,” he said. with its most important user of all: Marines on Gen Davis and his team have set timelines for the ground. completing the upgrades with a performance- Referring to the aviation and ground and standards-driven modifi cation schedule. By combat elements of a MAGTF Gen Davis said: January 2019, the Marine Corps wants to be able “Making the two elements operate a little bit to confi gure them to Block 4 standard which smarter by leveraging the capability of the off ers exponentially more combat capability systems on board the airplane is a big deal above Block 3F. for us.” And Gen Davis also stressed the benefits of Benefiting the Fleet operating F-35Bs from an amphibious assault Based on his insight of the ORI, Gen Davis says ship or sea base: “Without a sea base, we’re he has every confidence that even a limited forced to fly tactical fighters on long missions. Block 2B aircraft is highly survivable with lethal When based off shore we’re not cuffed by combat capability, and as such is a game cycle or sortie time that’s wasted in transit to changer. “We’ve got a big leap in capabilities. the target area. We need to get maximum Much like the MV-22 Osprey, which has combat capability. On a ten-hour mission, changed the Marine Corps for the better: it’s you’re getting very few assets over the target much more agile, and has totally transformed and the overheads to do that are really high. what a sea base looks like. What we can do If you’re going to have a limited number of with sea-based MV-22s and in expeditionary airplanes, this is the one you want to have, in land-based operations is a tremendous enough numbers to be a part of a campaign.” capability in the MEU. During the course of his career Gen Davis “The F-35 will be an even bigger step change has flown over 4,500 mishap-free hours in the for what we’re able to do with a sea-based AV-8 Harrier, F-5 Tiger and FA-18 Hornet, and force and a Marine Expeditionary Force. With as a co-pilot in every type model series of tilt- rotor, rotary winged and air-refueller aircraft in the US Marine Corps inventory. When asked about the priority for the F-35B he replied: “None of us in the business of being a force in readiness would let an event like the 75th anniversary of Eagle Day and the start of the Battle of Britain go without reflection. For us in the Marine Corps, putting the numbers [of F-35s] we need on the flight line, training our guys and building combat capability is priority before the next great challenge out there. The British cadre at 501 [VMFAT-501] is building a bridge for this [the F-35B’s] combat capability in the future and the more we learn to operate together the better hedge for future uncertainties. I think that’s imperative right now.” Mark Ayton

Semper Fi is the abbreviated version of Semper Fidelis, the motto of the US Marine Semper Fi Corps which means ‘Always faithful’.

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