Fourth JSF Will Fly With Systems Now Being Tested On Modified
737
Lockheed Martin's Cooperative Avionics Test Bed, or "CATBird,"
has begun in-flight integration and verification of the F-35
Lightning II mission systems suite, launching another stage of risk
reduction for the world's newest fighter.
The CATBird, a highly modified 737 airliner, will test the
avionics suite thoroughly for several months before the complete
system begins flying in an F-35 aircraft. The entire F-35 avionics
system is slated for airborne testing in the CATBird in 2009.
"The F-35 mission systems suite is the most sophisticated and
powerful avionics package of any fighter in the world," said Dan
Crowley, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 program
general manager. "The CATBird is a shared industry and government
investment that continues our risk-reduction work as we prove that
the F-35's advanced avionics work as advertised, three years before
the first F-35 goes operational. This is the start of what will no
doubt be an exciting period of validation and confidence building
regarding the capabilities of this 5th generation, multi-role,
multi-service aircraft."
The F-35's avionics include on-board sensors that will enable
pilots to strike fixed or moving ground targets in high-threat
environments, day or night, in any weather, while simultaneously
targeting and eliminating advanced airborne threats.
The CATBird's 40th flight, on Tuesday, November 25, was its
first configured as a complete classified mission systems
laboratory. All test objectives were met in the 2.4 hour
sortie.
"We were able to transmit using the radar for 23 minutes and
selected six different TACAN (tactical control and navigation)
stations, with data displayed on the F-35 cockpit that resides in
the CATBird," said Eric Branyan, Lockheed Martin vice president of
F-35 Air System Development. "The results matched our
predictions."
The first Lightning II aircraft to fly with the full avionics
package will be a short takeoff/vertical landing F-35B, called
BF-4. All previous F-35 test aircraft are "flight sciences"
aircraft, designed to validate the fighter's aerodynamic
performance. BF-4 is the first F-35 "mission systems" aircraft and
is scheduled to make its first flight in mid-2009.
The F-35 is a supersonic, multi-role, 5th generation stealth
fighter. Three F-35 variants derived from a common design,
developed together and using the same sustainment infrastructure
worldwide will replace at least 13 types of aircraft for 11 nations
initially, making the Lightning II the most cost-effective fighter
program in history.