F-35 Lightning II News

November 29, 2000 (by Lieven Dewitte) - The Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter development team finished flight testing a combined power and flight control system for the JSF on board ex-NASA's Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) F-16 airborne testbed.
All the new development hardware operated flawlessly throughout the flight-test effort. J/IST replaces hydraulics with power-on-demand electric actuators for flight-control surfaces, and combines that system with a 270-volts DC switched reluctance electric power system. The idea by going all-electric is to cut both weight and cost associated with heavy and maintenance-intensive hydraulic systems, while also increasing the plane's survivability. The company also points to another benefit for a single-engine airplane: Flight-control system power is always instantaneously available in the rare case of engine failure.

Fitted with J/IST hardware, the AFTI F-16 flew seven test flights beginning on Oct. 24. By the third flight on Nov. 9, the AFTI aircraft - now a 'power-by-wire' fighter - achieved supersonic flight, reaching Mach 1. 3. The team completed envelope expansion on the fifth flight, and on Wednesday's final flight the team achieved all its test-flight objectives.

The company is working with Hamilton Sundstrand, Parker Aerospace and BAE Systems on the J/IST effort."