Marine Corps F-35 goes supersonic

F-16.net ^ | 6/14/2010 | by John R. Kent

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time June 10, achieving a significant milestone. The aircraft accelerated to Mach 1.07 (727 miles per hour) on the first in a long series of planned supersonic flights.

"For the first time in military aviation history, supersonic, radar-evading stealth comes with short takeoff/vertical landing capability," said Bob Price, Lockheed Martin's F-35 U.S. Marine Corps program manager. "The supersonic F-35B can deploy from small ships and austere bases near front-line combat zones, greatly enhancing combat air support with higher sortie-generation rates." The F-35B will enter service for the Marines, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, and the Italian Air Force and Navy.

The supersonic milestone was achieved on the 30th flight of the F-35B known as BF-2. U.S. Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. Matt Kelly climbed to 30,000 feet and accelerated to Mach 1.07 in the off-shore supersonic test track near Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Future testing will gradually expand the flight envelope out to the aircraft's top speed of Mach 1.6, which the F-35 is designed to achieve with a full internal weapons load of more than 3,000 pounds. All F-35s are designed to launch internal missiles at maximum supersonic speed, as well as launch internal guided bombs supersonically. During the flight, Kelly accomplished 21 unique test points, including several Integrated Test Blocks to validate roll, pitch, yaw and propulsion performance

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

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[PAR35]

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[magslinger]

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[60Gunner]

Future testing will gradually expand the flight envelope out to the aircraft's top speed of Mach 1.6, which the F-35 is designed to achieve with a full internal weapons load of more than 3,000 pounds.

Only 3,000 pounds!? WTF! That's like an expensive sniper rifle that fires spitballs. Too bad they can't perform aerial rearmament.

[tanknetter]

Only 3,000 pounds!? WTF! That's like an expensive sniper rifle that fires spitballs. Too bad they can't perform aerial rearmament.

3000 lbs is the internal load (two 1000lb JDAMS plus two AIM-120s). The F-35 will also have six external wing stations, while the STOVL variant will have the ability to carry a 25mm gun pod on the centerline.

[tet68]

With the Small Diameter Bomb and guidence they don’t need
the mammoth ord of the past.

Still hard to beat arclight though.

[muffaletaman]

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[magslinger]

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[valkyry1]

With that much engine in it I suspect the F-35 can do way more than mach 1.6 or whatever.

[DesScorp]

" With that much engine in it I suspect the F-35 can do way more than mach 1.6 or whatever. "

Nope. A combination of sheer weight from fuel load and the design of the 'stealthy' inlets give a maximum design mach limit of 1.8 with a light load. With a full internal ordinance load, the design tops out at 1.6, and some sources have been saying that even with the increased engine thrust, the design might not be able to break Mach 1.5; a bigger problem is the heat from the rear nozzle might damage current decks, and flight surgeons have expressed concern at the higher noise levels of the engine.

[valkyry1]

Well maybe I forgot to consider the inlets, but you look at the F-105 which had even higher wing loading and less thrust could do mach 2.1

[MinorityRepublican]

The Marine Corps get their own planes? Shouldn’t this be taken care of by the Navy?