F-35 begins integration phase of weapons testing

F-35 begins integration phase of weapons testing 20 Nov 2012 by Laura Mowry and Jess Lozano
412th Test Wing Public Affairs and 461st Flight Test Squadron

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123327144

"..."In October [2012], we were able to begin weapons separation testing with the JDAM and AMRAAM," said Col. Roderick L. Cregier, 412th Test Wing, F-35 program manager. "We proved we can carry them safely and that the shapes, which matched the exact mass properties of the real weapons, could separate from the aircraft safely. Now, with the integration testing, we've initially proved the aircraft can talk to the weapon and that the weapon can talk to the aircraft."

Prior to Oct. 26, mass models with no internal electronics were used during all F-35 weapons testing. The AIM-120 AMRAAM used during the integration test contained the same electronics as a full-up missile, but without the rocket motor.

"The program is doing very well in meeting its goals after it was rebaselined in 2010," said Cregier. "I'm very proud of the team, even though testing was incredibly complex and difficult, the hard work of the team enabled it to happen relatively smoothly without any serious glitches that would delay the program. We just pressed right on through with great success and we're ready for the next phase."

Successful integration testing, along with the safe separation releases in October, means that the F-35 Integrated Test Force can continue progressing towards the weapon delivery accuracy test phase and live fire testing scheduled to begin in early 2013.

"This was a very important milestone to get us over that hump, to move on to the next phase of the program, which is going to start very soon," said Cregier. "This success was critical, now what we're doing is putting the teeth into the F-35. It's important that the jet can meet all the corners of its envelope, but what we're really designing it to do is employ weapons.

Starting in February and continuing through the end of April, the team is anticipating releasing roughly two weapons per week, said Cregier.

"This is going to be just the beginning of what I would characterize as the most ambitious weapons program in the history of integration onto an aircraft," he said....

BIG PIC: http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/ ... 99-001.jpg (1.3Mb unedited)

CAPTION: "The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter began the integration phase of weapons testing Oct. 26 when the F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing aircraft successfully completed the first in-flight test with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile. It was the first time a weapon communicated with the aircraft during flight using a data link. (Lockheed Martin courtesy photo/Matthew Short)"

More or less what it is.

What a nice shot!

Wow!

24 weapon releases in 12 weeks (Edwards weather shouldn't be an issue) is more than aggressive. With that high a bar, the data links must be established and tested with only performance proof flights as the last requirements.

GBUs, AMMRAMs, Sidewinders; Oh My!

It seems the weapons integration will be quite fast, maybe due to UAI?

F-35 begins integration phase of weapons testing

...

Successful integration testing, along with the safe separation releases in October, means that the F-35 Integrated Test Force can continue progressing towards the weapon delivery accuracy test phase and live fire testing scheduled to begin in early 2013.

"This was a very important milestone to get us over that hump, to move on to the next phase of the program, which is going to start very soon," said Cregier. "This success was critical, now what we're doing is putting the teeth into the F-35. It's important that the jet can meet all the corners of its envelope, but what we're really designing it to do is employ weapons.

Starting in February and continuing through the end of April, the team is anticipating releasing roughly two weapons per week, said Cregier.

"This is going to be just the beginning of what I would characterize as the most ambitious weapons program in the history of integration onto an aircraft," he said.

http://f-16.net/news_article4656.html

At this time next year amraam's and gbu's should be cleared along with the high AoA envelope and c. 60% of the test points!

Then even the most casual reader should be able to see through snide, biased articles.

No to UAI as it's not due till Blk4.

They can get through so much testing in a short time due to doing a lot of lab work. This is not the first time that the F-35's computers have been hooked to live weapons.

Nice pic, eh?

Yeah just rotate it 90 degrees CCW and you're golden.

handyman wrote:Yeah just rotate it 90 degrees CCW and you're golden.

Question: Do the inner doors of the weapons bays actually touch each other?
They look mighty close....

I suppose that would be one way to achieve a form of stability by having them 'lean' against each other when both are open. I can imagine more problems than solutions that way tho.

Touch = ??

It's really, really close

Hi-Res
http://www.f-16.net/attachments/sdd_f35 ... 70_115.jpg

ZOOM

If they were designed to touch you would think they would have pads on the outside surface (probably diamond shaped) to prevent damage to the surface.

My memory is poor and my site search capabilities are worse. I seem to recall that there was some rework that was identified for those bay doors due to instability or something. Possibly shock wave interference???? (pure conjecture here)

There is/was a flutter issue? [Seems my memory is faulty.] Search on 'flutter'? One year ago there was this initial report below but I think in the recent DOTE PDF report there is an item about F-35A 'door flutter' wot I'll check now also. Nope 'flutter' not mentioned there in a bad way - only other 'door flutter' is in reference to the F-35B STOVL doors wot are being fixed:

Panetta Lifts F-35B Probation Jan 20, 2012 By Amy Butler - AviationWeek.com

http://rpdefense.over-blog.com/article- ... 67465.html

"...the test force is looking ahead to weapons separation trials this year, says Lt. Col. Matt Kelly, F-35 flight operations lead at the Patuxent River testing facility. The team has already conducted flights of the F-35B carrying weapons at subsonic and supersonic speeds. Initial flutter testing with the weapon bay doors open in flight have shown no significant problems, Kelly says...."
___________________

However in the recent DOTE PDF there is this:

"...Also, excessive wear was found on the nose landing gear retractor actuator lugs and weapons bay door hinges [F-35B]. All of these discoveries will require mitigation plans and may include redesigning parts and additional weight...."
&
F-35A: "...-- Higher than expected loads on the weapon bay doors, which required additional testing and thus limited the amount of testing with weapons loaded on the aircraft...."
&
F-35B + others I think: "...For example, the Block 2B flight envelope includes operations with the weapons bay doors open. The program discovered dynamic flight loads on portions of the open doors were higher than expected, requiring additional instrumentation and testing...."

No, there is about a 2 inch gap between the doors.

Besides, in operation, the F-35 should only be opening one bay at a time, not both simultaneously.