Published: 15 Feb 2011 19:31
The U.S. Air Force will begin training on new fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft before the end of the year, the program's top official said.
The 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will take delivery of 20 F-35A-model conventional take-off variant aircraft with Block 1 training software after a brief informal operational evaluation so that instructor pilots can begin their training, said Vice Adm. Dave Venlet, the new JSF program executive officer.
"We're going to put them in the hands of the fleet and the Air Force is going to be operating [Conventional take-off and landing aircraft] in training at Eglin before the year ends," Venlet told a luncheon hosted by the National Aeronautic Association.
However, because it is unusual for an aircraft to be delivered to line pilots before formal operational testing is complete, Venlet said that the program will conduct an abbreviated informal test prior to handing over the new fighters.
"It's not a full operational test, it doesn't resolve any measures of effectiveness," he said.
However, it will provide an independent evaluation to the services as to how well the new fighter performs in the real world.
"It will inform [Air Education and Training Command]," Venlet said, referring to the Air Force's training arm.
Other than the "operational assessment" of the Air Force F-35 version, Venlet said he hopes to complete sea-trials with the Marine Corps' vertical-landing F-35B model in the fall. That variant has made 30 vertical landings this year, which is good progress towards taking the plane out to sea, he said.
Additionally, the F-35C version for the U.S. Navy's carrier fleet will complete "static structural tests" this year to verify the strength of its airframe. Carrier-borne aircraft require especially robust structures to withstand the stress of arrested landings onboard a ship.
One area where there is a problem is the aircraft's helmet-mounted display, Venlet said. While the helmet is safe to fly, and test pilots fly with the equipment everyday, the images are jittery, he explained. However, the problem is especially pronounced with the night-vision system, Venlet said. The F-35 uses a revolutionary apparatus called the Distributed Aperture System where images from six infrared cameras mounted around the aircraft's fuselage are displayed in the pilot's visor.
Because pilots have to train with the helmet-mounted display, the program is looking at short-term alternatives. One alternative could be to display the imagery on the aircraft's head-down flat-panel displays, Venlet said. Early training flights could use night-vision goggle similar to current aircraft, he added. However, those are not satisfactory solutions long-term, Venlet said. "We're not giving up on the requirement," he declared.
Venlet also said that developmental testing is now slated to end in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 when flight sciences testing of the A-model and C-model jets, along with the mission systems testing for the variants, will be complete. The F-35B, which has an especially challenging flight envelope to clear due to its unique vertical-landing capability, will lag behind until the fourth quarter of that year. The formal operational testing plan is being reviewed, Venlet said, in order to better integrate it with the flight test plan.
Overall, the Air Force requirement is holding steady at 1763 jets while the Navy and Marine Corps are still planning on buying 680 planes, Venlet said.
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