F-35 Weapons Load [internal & external Eglin AFB]

[spazsinbad]

I guess this is a milestone of sorts however we have seen fully loaded variants in hangars before - did not HILL AFB do it?

F-35 Weapons Load
22 Jul 2016 Senior Airman Stormy Archer, 33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

"EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FL. -- Airmen from the 33rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron load an AIM-9X missile on to a F-35A’s external weapons pylon July 20, 2016 here.

This milestone was the first time an F-35A here was loaded with internal and external weapons[?] and will help develop weapon-loading procedures for the F-35 program.

The F-35 is capable of carrying weapons both internally and externally to adapt to mission needs."

Photo: "An F-35A from the 58th Fighter Squadron is loaded with weapons in its internal weapons bays and on external pylons July 20, 2016, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The F-35 is capable of carrying weapons both internally and externally in order to adapt to mission needs. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Stormy Archer)" http://media.defense.gov/2016/Jul/22/20 ... 74-106.JPG

[yeswepromise]

As crazy as it sounds, I don't think I've ever seen a non-SDD jet with external pylon.

[spazsinbad]

External weapons on pylons come with Block 3F. I was thinking of this photo and another similar from years ago of an F-35B at Pax River loaded with gun pod & missiles / bombs. https://a855196877272cb14560-2a4fa819a6 ... arriage_(1)-2__main.jpg & from our very own: http://www.f-16.net/f-35-news-article3837.html / http://www.f-16.net/g3/var/resizes/f-35 ... 5B_005.jpg

This is my fave: http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt27 ... optest.jpg

[bring_it_on]

[charlielima223]

18000+ lbs of internal fuel and all those weapons (internal AND external)... who ever says the F-35 doesn't have payload capability is either high as a U-2 or will fully stupid.

[playloud]

18000+ lbs of internal fuel and all those weapons (internal AND external)... who ever says the F-35 doesn't have payload capability is either high as a U-2 or will fully stupid.

People who attack the F-35 always point out how the F-35 will get shot down if you load it up with external stores, because then you lose your stealth!... and then advocate for their platform of choice, which NEVER has stealth.

[duskysharp]

How soon until we see the internal bays being upgraded to hold Six AIM120s and for which model? If and when that happens, should the F-35 ever be used for air superiority missions will the loadout be 4 AIM 120 + 2 Aim 9 internally?

[southernphantom]

How soon until we see the internal bays being upgraded to hold Six AIM120s and for which model? If and when that happens, should the F-35 ever be used for air superiority missions will the loadout be 4 AIM 120 + 2 Aim 9 internally?

I believe that the 6x AMRAAM load will be incorporated as part of Block 4F, sometime in the early 20s. To my knowledge, as a rail-launched missile, the 9X is not really doable internally, so the aircraft would just carry 6 AMRAAMs unless the environment was sufficiently permissive to take the RCS penalty of using the wing stations for the 9Xs.

[jessmo111]

I thought the Aim-9X had a lock on after launch mode?
If the weapon can be fired from a submarine, a non rail launch is doable.

[Dragon029]

The earliest that 6x AMRAAM would arrive is Block 4.3 or 4.4, the latter of which was last scheduled for a 2025 release.

The AIM-9X does have LOAL, but that has nothing to do with the fact that it's a rail-launched missile. LOAL just means that it can be fired without its seeker being locked on to the enemy. It wouldn't be that difficult to add a remote fuse to the AIM-9X to make it capable of internal carriage, but it'd still be an upgrade program that requires funding, which is hard to come by at the moment.

[flaggy]

Hello. Is there any official information about the (aerodynamic/structural) reason of the different configuration of pylons 2 and 10 that are tilted upwards in comparison with pylons 3 and 9 on A and B version? On the other hands on F-35C the 4 pylons seem to be exactly the same. Thank you.

[steve2267]

There was a thread some months back that discussed angles / alignments of external weapons pylons etc. Search is your friend.

Suggest you try searching on "pylon" "external" "angle" "alignment" "aero" OR "aerodynamics" and various combinations.

[flaggy]

Thank you Steve2267, but I didn't find it before my post and unfortunately I' don't find it now. For sure here and in other forums there are discussions about that question: for the moment I found some of them (for example here viewtopic.php?f=54&t=23216&hilit=external+pylon&start=15) , but not the answer...In any case it seams there are no articles or official comments about that.
Never mind. I'll go on in my serch.

[steve2267]

You're welcome. But I can see where my suggestion was less than helpful. I have recalled, though, that the previous discussion of which I think involved the F-35B and was on a thread involving seat trials on the USS America. I managed to find the post / thread to which I was referring.

Hope this helps: viewtopic.php?p=357196#p357196

(Not sure it answers your questions, but FWIW...)

[botsing]

Hello. Is there any official information about the (aerodynamic/structural) reason of the different configuration of pylons 2 and 10 that are tilted upwards in comparison with pylons 3 and 9 on A and B version? On the other hands on F-35C the 4 pylons seem to be exactly the same. Thank you.

This is the best response for the different angles (in the thread suggested in the previous post):

viewtopic.php?p=357275#p357275