PICTURES: Lockheed Martin flies F-35 JSF and CATBird

Flightglobal.com ^ | 7 Dec 2007 | Graham Warwick

[Yo-Yo]

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has returned to flight with a 55min test sortie on 7 December. And, just over an hour after the aircraft landed back on the Fort Worth, Texas runway, Lockheed launched the F-35 avionics testbed - the CATBird - on a 2h check flight.

The first F-35, aircraft AA-1, last flew in May, when a brief electrical failure cut short the aircraft's 19th test sortie. The maiden flight was in December 2006.

The 20th flight, flown by F-35 chief test pilot Jon Beesley, tested engine performance and aircraft handling qualities up to 20,000ft in preparation for upcoming air refuelling flights.

Lockheed says Beesley executed a military-power take-off, ran the engine at various power settings, checked flying qualities at 6,000ft, 17.500ft and 20,000ft and performed a fuel-dump test at 250kt.

Further tests planned for AA-1 "include refuelling from an airborne tanker in the short term and supersonic flights next year", says Dan Crowley, executive vice-president and F-35 programme general manager.

The first short take-off and vertical landing F-35B is to roll off the assembly line at Fort Worth on 18 December and is scheduled to fly in May 2008. "By the end of 2008, we expect to have at least three F-35s in the air and numerous arcraft on the assembly line," he says.

The CATBird, a highly modified Boeing 737-300, made its first functional check flight following installation of the F-35's communication-navigation-identification (CNI) system. The aircraft was modified by BAE Systems in California and flown to Fort Worth for final outfitting.

CATBird flights with the CNI system operating will begin airborne testing of the F-35's mission-systems suite. The active electronically scanned array radar, electro-optical distributed aperture system and electro-optical targeting system will be added later.

The CATBird will allow the fully integrated JSF avionics suite to be flight tested before the first mission-systems-equipped F-35 flies in 2009, says Lockheed.

[Yo-Yo]

Pictures of AA-1 and CATBird.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

We need to pump more money in this program to get it on a fast track to service and get the F-16 retired. Am I wrong in my assessment ?
Just dump enough money in the F-16 to keep it airworthy until the F-35 is in service in a large enough quantities to do the job.

[JEC]

Considering the way the Russians are going, a smart move would be to dump some mega-bucks into the F-35. Retiring the F-16 and not spending anymore $ on it is a good idea. Just keep it going until the F-35 is fully developed and do it fast.

[Jeff Chandler]

I don't know how it works with armament, but with government vehicles, when the amount spent on maintenance per year reaches a certain level, the vehicle is replaced. So if a vehicle is getting older, the smart thing to do is to rebuild it from the ground up to send the maintenance cost for that year through the roof.

Companies that buy used government buses buy them completely rebuilt.

[SIDENET]

CATBird flights with the CNI system operating will begin airborne testing of the F-35's mission-systems suite. The active electronically scanned array radar, electro-optical distributed aperture system and electro-optical targeting system will be added later.

The CATBird has an F-35 radar? Hmmm, you could add some hard points to it and have the world's most deadly 737.

[Yo-Yo]

I think the Navy and Marine Corps need this plane more desparately than the Air Force does. The F-35B will replace the AV-8B Harrier II, and the F-35C will replace the F/A-18A-D. Overall the F-16 fleet is in relatively good shape for the next decade or so.

With the grounding of the F-15A-D fleet, however, the USAF could use more F-22s for air superiority. Some feel that the Air Force is making such a big deal about the F-15 stress crack problem in order to make the case to buy more F-22s than currently planned.

[Shadow44]

I still think it’s stupid they didn’t name it the F-24. Are they just going to skip 24-34 after it?

[Yo-Yo]

I agree. The prototypes were the X-33 and X-35 but that doesn't mean they had to stick with F-35.

I think it's also stupid to call the three variants F-35A, B, and C. What are you going to call the next set of improvements to the F-35A? The F-35D?

[null and void]

F-35A-1

[fish hawk]

Why do they name them after bra sizes? LOL

[Yo-Yo]

Typo. The prototype JSF produced by Boeing was the X-32.

[aberaussie]

CATBird flights with the CNI system operating will begin airborne testing of the F-35's mission-systems suite. The active electronically scanned array radar, electro-optical distributed aperture system and electro-optical targeting system will be added later.

Cool. My husband designed some of the electronics in that mission-systems suite.

[CyberAnt]

I agree we do .. but if Hillary gets elected .. you can plan on this program being cancelled.

[Picklezz]

That’s the government boobs for ya.

[tet68]

Kewl, looks like they just grafted the F-35 nose right on that big bird.

[tet68]

Government boobs?

Are they sold refurbished too?

[A.A. Cunningham]

The F-35B will replace the AV-8B Harrier II,

The Marine Corps will be replacing both the Harrier and the Hornet and most likely the Prowler, eventually, with the F-35B.

the F-35C will replace the F/A-18A-D.

By the time the F-35C becomes operational the Navy will have transferred what few remaining Ds they have to the Marine Corps. Navy Ds will be replaced by F model Super Hornets.

[Erasmus]

Well, the F-36D will doubtless be a sexy model.

[Yo-Yo]

Thanks, I didn't know that the Marine Corps wanted to get rid of their Hornets.

If that is the case, then given the F-35C's longer range, higher payload, and lower cost, why not go with a mix of F-35Bs and F-35Cs?