F-35B confirm its power at low speeds

Brahmand.com ^ | 3/12/2010 | Brahmand.com

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The first Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter flew at 40 knots (46 mph) prior to a slow landing at 75-knot (86 mph), at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, on Wednesday.

The flight was one of the last missions before the aircraft's first vertical landing.

The flight has confirmed the stealth aircraft's capability at low speeds. The F-35B's short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) propulsion system generates more than 41,000 pounds of vertical thrust, and enables airspeeds from zero to Mach 1.6, according to report by the Lockheed Martin.

The F-35B STOVL variant allows operations from amphibious ships and shore-based expeditionary sites as it deploys close to the battle.

The stealth fighter will be operated by the US Marine Corps, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and the Italian Air Force and Navy.

The F-35B will be the world's first operational supersonic STOVL aircraft. The aircraft will replace the aging AV-8B Harrier STOVL attack aircrafts of the US Marine Corps, as well as its F/A-18s.

[Vroomfondel]

Ping

[maddog55]

Wasn’t much to see.... the AVA-8 has been doing that since the early 80’s at a cost of about $24M each.

The F-35B cost about $100M each and doesn’t offer much.

[FroggyTheGremlim]

It’s supersonic.

[RaceBannon]

AV-8A has been doing it since the 70’s

It’s the B that’s been doing it since the 80’s. :)

[rlmorel]

...and it flew slow! The Wright Brother’s plane has been doing that since 1903!

(sorry-couldn’t resist!)

[spetznaz]

The F-35B will be the world's first operational supersonic STOVL aircraft

I was about to say that was incorrect ...until I realized they added 'operational' to the sentence. The first supersonic VTOL aircraft in the world was the Soviet/Russian Yak-141. Two planes were produced, and they broke all sorts of records (including the aforementioned supersonic performance for a VTOL airframe), but due to money issues they never went into full production.

An interesting thing about the YAK and the F-35B ...they are related! In what may come as a shock to those who claim Russia always copies from the US, Lockheed Martin became a funding partner in the YAK-141 project in the early 90s when the Russian government could no longer fund it. They had access to the design, and even funded one of the 2 produced planes. What is interesting is that this was roughly the time Lockmart was working on their JSF proposal, and that proposal (the X-35, now the F-35) had some interesting similarities. One of these, the swivel nozzle design, was even clearly admitted as having being borrowed from the Yak-141 (both by Lockmart and Rollsroyce). The interesting opening just behind the canopy is another borrowed similarity.

Anyways, had the YAK-141 (41m) gone through, all it could have been is another Gen 4+, and with Russian aviation having apparently no need for a VTOL aircraft after the Yak-38 it really did not have anyone to love. The Indians however may have been interested in it for their carriers, although even then they seem to be quite happy with the naval MiG-29s. As for China ....they seem to be more interested in a SU-33 type airframe. Thus, the YAK-141 even if it had gone into full production, would have been looking for a mission. Unlike the F-35B, which is a stealthy airframe with advanced sensor fusion with VTOL ability, and that has a client base (the Marines and the RN) who need such a craft for their carriers .....the YAK did not have a client base that required it (again, the Russians, Indians and Chinese could potentially use it, but they have SU-33s and MiG-29s to fill that area. The SU-33 and MiG-29 can take off and land from the relatively smaller Ruskie, Indian and soon-to-be Chinese carriers. As for taking off from forward bases, both the Su-27/30s and the MiG-29s can take off from relatively 'unclean' airfields. Thus, the need for a YAK-141 is further eroded).

Anyways:

[Robert A Cook PE]

Pretty aircraft. Functional.

[TalBlack]

“The first Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter flew at 40 knots (46 mph) prior to a slow landing at 75-knot (86 mph)”,

Very close to Cessna 150 numbers

[Charles Martel]

Wasn’t the “Lightning II” name associated with the F-22 for a while?

[stefanbatory]

only in Debt of Honor...;)

[Yo-Yo]

Via F16.net:

[maddog55]

RAND STUDY: The belief in quantity could be seen as a point in the F-35’s favor, when comparing it to its implicit F-22 as a rival for USAF dollars. Even so, it’s prudent to note that the RAND study revolved around total missiles carried, and the F-35’s internal capacity will be no larger than half of the F-22’s (no more than 4 missiles, vs. 8 in the F-22A). Equivalent air-air missile capacity at each aircraft’s maximum stealth configuration thus requires at least twice as many F-35s as F-22s, a move that also raises the cost of the supporting aerial tankers and other infrastructure required to field long-range missions.

The RAND study also spends a great deal of time on the core American assumptions concerning “beyond visual range” air to air combat, and the current and future capabilities of SU-30 family aircraft. The implications of its examination do affect the F-35’s fighting qualities – and they will be significant to some of the plane’s potential customers.

RAND’s discussion begins by predicting poorer beyond visual range missile kill performance than current models suggest when facing capable enemy aircraft, by noting that BVR missile performance since the 1990s has largely involved poorly-equipped targets. It also notes the steep rise and then drop in modern infrared missile performance, as countermeasures improved. Meanwhile, AESA radar advances already deployed in the most advanced Russian surface-air missiles, and existing IRST (infra-red scan and track) systems deployed on advanced Russian and European fighters are extending enemy detection ranges against even ultra-stealthy aircraft. Fighter radar pick-up capability of up to 25 nautical miles by 2020 is proposed against even ultra-stealthy aircraft like the F-22, coupled with IRST ability to identify AMRAAM missile firings and less infrared-stealthy aircraft at 50 nautical miles or more.

The F-35’s lower infrared and radar stealth mean that these advances will affect it more than the F-22. Especially if one assumes a fighter aircraft whose prime in-service period stretches from 2020 -2050.

The clear implication of the RAND study is that the F-35 is very likely to wind up facing many more “up close and personal” opponents than its proponents suggest, while dealing with beyond-visual-range infrared-guided missiles as an added complication. Unlike the F-22, the F-35 is described as “double inferior” to modern SU-30 family fighters within visual range combat; thrust and wing loading issues are noted, all summed up in one RAND background slide as “can’t [out]turn, can’t [out]climb, can’t [out]run.”

[bt_dooftlook]

Um, the cockpit is closed in that picture; the open hatch behind the cockpit allows air to feed into a downward-vectored engine to provide lift for the forward part of the aircraft. The hatch closes in forward flight as the wings begin to generate lift...

[mad_as_he$$]

That is the cover for the vertical fan.

[magslinger]

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[doorgunner69]

Very interesting, thanks..........

[TChris]

I don't deny that Russia has some brilliant minds. The "money issues" stem from Russia's economic policies.

As they say, "Aye, there's the rub."

Free market capitalism creates wealth. You need wealth to build stuff.