For the First Time in History, the F-35B Takes-Off at Sea With Full Weapons Load

Scout Warrior ^ | November 29, 2016 | KRIS OSBORN

[sukhoi-30mki]

[ganeemead]

Anybody interested in the trillion-plus dollar F35 program probably needs to see this. Try to imagine what somebody could do if they ever spent a trillion dollars intelligently...

[grobdriver]

For the first time in history, the F-35B took off from a ship with a full-load of weapons.

And the first thing he did was to hit a tanker.

[Don Corleone]

You could launch a destroyer off a carrier with the power those steam catapults generate.

[MCF]

http://www.airvectors.net/avsbd_1.jpg
It’s about time!

[WayneS]

Is it possible to spend a trillion dollars intelligently?

I'm seeking a government grant to perform a detailed, long-term (25-year, study to answer that question.

And it will only cost the taxpayers $40 billion a year...

[tomkat]

Uhmmm .. airspeed's gonna take a hit with those hatches open   ;-)

[Covenantor]

What happens to Stealthy?

[Captain Rhino]

No catapults; no ski ramp either. Photo shows forward vertical lift fan doors open at lift off. Same technique used by Harriers.

Basically, an amphibious ship(minus well deck) imitating an escort carrier. Wonder how long it would take to run through its aviation ordnance stores during full scale close air support operations? (Problem during “Harrier Carrier” ops in OIF.)

[SJSAMPLE]

That’s still a rolling liftoff, right?
I can’t see the F-35B doing a full vertical takeoff with that ordinance load, and I don’t see the engine nozzle is in the vertical position.

[Freeport]

Uhhmmm... you do know that these ships do not have catapults don't you? That's why the need of the STOVL, short takeoff and vertical landing, variant of the F-35.

[Captain Rhino]

Agree. Vertical takeoff with a full ordnance load would result in a very significant reduction in the amount of fuel that can be carried. Hence the short forward roll to lift off. The rear exhaust nozzle is partially deflected downward at lift off. You can see the doors below it are open in the photo but the nozzle itself is not visible.

[MAGA2017]

I suspect the Chinese have all the technical specs on the F-35. They may even have the ability to shut them down with a push of a button during a conflict so I’m not exactly reassured.

[SJSAMPLE]

Thx. I saw the doors and figured a partial rotation. To be honest, I never thought the F35B would make it to production. I thought the STOVL concept would limit too much in payload and range, but I knew that it was a USMC priority.

[Daniel Ramsey]

I swear somebody is going to come up with a flying aircraft carrier one of these days......

[Army Air Corps]

The US Navy did that in the 1930s: USS Akron (ZRS-4) and USS Macon (ZRS-5).

[batterycommander]

Of course, the speed of the ship into the wind is an important component required for takeoff.

[fella]

"Try to imagine what somebody could do if they ever spent a trillion dollars intelligently... 

Why you could give away enough ObamaPhones and EBT cards to run SE DC for a month may two depending on how much kickback the RATs would demand.

[pfflier]

For the first time in history, the F-35B took off from a ship with a full-load of weapons.

And the first thing he did was to hit a tanker

B-52s, B-1s, F-15Es and F-16s do that too.

[PLMerite]

So is it actually taking off or just sitting there bouncing up and down on the front shocks like a low-rider?