Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

Trident said:
Just a really nice photo... nice flow-viz of low pressure areas:

www.airliners.net

Aviation Photo #6985791: Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II - USA - Air Force

This USAF F-35A Lightning II (19-5475; msnAF-303; LN), piloted by Kristin "Beo" Wolfe, performs a high speed dedication pass over the airfield of Leopoldsburg - Beverlo (EBLE), during the Sanicole Sunset Show in extreme humid conditions. Major Kristin "Beo" Wolfe is the Commander of the F-35A...
www.airliners.net www.airliners.net
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Picture was from this routine:

 
Pretty interesting. Same airframe. 3 photos taken less that 1 second apart.

www.instagram.com

Mark and Taj on Instagram: "Diamondskin F35 shifting colors in less than a second. 8/2022 (Three frames taken less than a second apart, last week during Gray Flag exercises out on the farm roads.) ...................................................

Mark and Taj shared a post on Instagram: "Diamondskin F35 shifting colors in less than a second. 8/2022 (Three frames taken less than a second apart, last week during Gray Flag exercises out on the farm roads.) ...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1571958786994085888
View: https://twitter.com/RaytheonDefense/status/1571958786994085888


TUCSON, Ariz., (Sept. 19, 2022) — The U.S. Navy, in partnership with Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, conducted two StormBreaker® smart weapon guided test vehicle releases from an F-35B Lightning II at .9 Mach, the fastest release to date from an F-35.

“No other fielded air-to-surface weapon can accomplish what StormBreaker can against complex targets in contested environments,” said Paul Ferraro, president of Air Power at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “Tests like these continue the progress on integrating StormBreaker into fifth generation platforms in an effort to get this much needed capability to U.S. and allied warfighters as soon as possible.”

During the tests, the two weapons, deployed within thirty minutes of each other, successfully released and performed the required flight behaviors. These two releases complete a seven shot rate capture series, which allows the F-35B test program to move onto the weapon capability testing phase.

StormBreaker features an innovative multimode seeker and powerful, multi-effects warhead, enabling highly flexible and effective target engagement against moving and stationary targets more than 45 miles away. The weapon also provides an increased loadout compared to legacy munitions, creating opportunities to address more targets per sortie.
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www.defenceconnect.com.au

New F-35A aircraft join RAAF fleet

Australia’s fleet of fifth-generation fighter jets has been bolstered by new arrivals. Four additional Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter aircraft have been accepted into service by the Royal Australian
www.defenceconnect.com.au www.defenceconnect.com.au
 
Swiss government signed yesterday the F-35 acquisition contract for 36 model A, as expected, like a clockwork:

abcnews.go.com

Swiss sign controversial $6B deal to purchase F-35 fighters

Swiss officials have formally signed a procurement contract to buy three dozen F-35 fighter jets from the United States as part of a planned refurbishment of Switzerland’s air force that has run afoul of critics of the big defense purchase
abcnews.go.com abcnews.go.com
 
TomcatViP said:
Swiss government signed yesterday the F-35 acquisition contract for 36 model A, as expected, like a clockwork:

abcnews.go.com

Swiss sign controversial $6B deal to purchase F-35 fighters

Swiss officials have formally signed a procurement contract to buy three dozen F-35 fighter jets from the United States as part of a planned refurbishment of Switzerland’s air force that has run afoul of critics of the big defense purchase
abcnews.go.com abcnews.go.com
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Sometimes I wonder about that referendum thing in Switzerland. Do they make popular referendums at will ? or consider the results at will ?
I mean, at some point it seemed that F-35 deal might be screwed by a referendum... yet it seems to have passed easily.
I'm at lost !
 
@Archibald : I have only a partial knowledge of how Swiss organize their refendums. You could be interested by this link to get some information.

Anyway, the infamous anti-F-35 referendum has been dumped by its proponents:

www.reuters.com

Swiss activists drop campaign against F-35 fighter deal

Activists have withdrawn their campaign to stop Switzerland from buying 36 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets after the government signed a $5.5 billion procurement deal without waiting for a referendum.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com

It's great that the Swiss gov didn't let itself distracted.
 
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Hi everyone. I recall hearing several years ago that the Navy wanted the F-35 to have 2 engines for redundancy, but had to drop this because of the B variant. Has anyone else heard this? Are there any other examples of compromises that had to be made to for everything to fit into one airframe?
 
Must have happened circa 1994 in the JAST / CALF merging era. USN certainly wanted more Tomcats or NATF, both big and twin engines. But they got Superbugs instead.
 
"I am happy to report that we were able to show a technical solution there that did meet the technical goals that were put out and it was a very collaborative and productive effort, with both Lockheed Martin and the Joint Program Office," Tweedie said. "Now, the B-model user community will have options for multiple engine companies moving forward as they think about their modernization needs, which is something they have never had."

www.thedrive.com

XA100 Next Generation Adaptive Engine Could Now Power F-35B, Too

General Electric is now pitching its advanced XA100 engine for all three F-35 variants and has an eye on future aircraft programs, too.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
 
Considering that this engine increase the range by 30 percent.

Which is bout 195 miles when you use 600 miles as the lowest minimum for all three types...

Thats nearly 800 miles of range a F35 can do.

Probably pushing closer to 900 on the A and C types. Which is nice.
 
One of my friends is currently in VMFAT-502, an F-35B Fleet Replacement Squadron, and I had a good conversation with him when they had an exhibit at the Miramar Air Show last weekend. Of course, next to them was VMFA-314, an F-35C squadron that just returned from CVW-9 deployment on Abraham Lincoln, and one of their pilots insisted in no uncertain terms that the F-35C is superior, and she specifically cited the bigger wings and greater fuel capacity. She also noted that she’s speaking from personal experience, having flown both. Of course my friend retorted that the C can’t hover.
 

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Jeb said:
I mean, it's something, but I don't think that's the win that your friend thinks it is. :)
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The F-35C gal was quite confident, but when she was touting the virtues of bigger wings and more fuel it's a bit difficult to counter her argument. Of course, being VMFA-314, they claim to have a poster of Will Smith in their hanger. A 1990s moviegoer might know what I'm referring to. ;)
 
icyplanetnhc (Steve) said:
Jeb said:
I mean, it's something, but I don't think that's the win that your friend thinks it is. :)
Click to expand...
The F-35C gal was quite confident, but when she was touting the virtues of bigger wings and more fuel it's a bit difficult to counter her argument. Of course, being VMFA-314, they claim to have a poster of Will Smith in their hanger. A 1990s moviegoer might know what I'm referring to. ;)
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Let me guess (or try) - Independance day ?
 
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