Tue, Jun 15, 2010
Sound Barrier Broken On BF-2's 30th Flight
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter short takeoff/vertical landing
(STOVL) variant flew faster than the speed of sound for the first
time June 10, the airplane's prime contractor Lockheed Martin said
Monday. The aircraft accelerated to Mach 1.07 (727 miles per hour)
on the first in a long series of planned supersonic flights.
File Photo
"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.
File Photo
The supersonic flight was the 30th overall for 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.
BF-2 is the third F-35 to achieve supersonic flight. Two F-35A
conventional takeoff and landing variants also have broken the
sound barrier.
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