Thu, Jul 08, 2010
Ninth Aircraft To Enter The Flight Testing Program
The ninth F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter entered flight
testing on Tuesday, becoming the second test jet to fly with the
next-generation avionics package that will populate all operational
F-35s. The F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant,
known as AF-3, flew for 42 minutes during its first flight.
F-35 Test Pilot Bill Gigliotti took off at 1820 and initiated a
series of flying-qualities tests in a flight focused on propulsion
and vehicle systems operation. Some mission systems data were
collected before the flight was curtailed by storms in the
area. "AF-3 is very much like the first production F-35s we
will deliver to the U.S. Air Force later this year," said Doug
Pearson, Lockheed Martin vice president of F-35 Test and
Verification. "AF-3 will be the workhorse for demonstrating the
lethal 5th generation combat mission systems capability that will
reside in all F-35s."
The F-35's avionics, or mission systems, are the most
comprehensive and powerful ever to fly in a fighter. The Lightning
II gathers, processes and applies data from a wide array of
on-board and off-board sensors, enabling the jet to perform
command-and-control functions while providing unprecedented
situational awareness to the pilot, other air assets and surface
forces.
The jet will begin testing with its AESA radar; electronic
warfare system; integrated communication, navigation and
identification system; inertial navigation system; global
positioning system; integrated core processor; and helmet-mounted
display system, then integrate other sensors as flight testing
progresses. An F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant
became the first test jet to begin flying the mission systems
package on April 7.
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