Forum: General F-35 Forum

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – Over an Atlantic test range, Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Levin flies F-35B test aircraft BF-2 with external weapons pylons for the first time Feb. 22. The test measured flying qualities with external pylons, inert AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and centerline 25 mm gun pod. Significant weapons testing for the F-35B and F-35C variants is scheduled for 2012, including fit checks, captive carriage, pit drop and aerial drop tests.

http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fu ... mp;id=4923

F-16.net Sponsor

Last edited by spazsinbad on Feb 24, 2012 - 04:11 AM; edited 7 times in total

Good to know 'maus92' thanks. I guess some larger photos will be on LM website at Flikr soon enough? Meanwhile here is NavAir contribution:

"Over an Atlantic test range, Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Levin flies F-35B test aircraft BF-2 with external weapons pylons for the first time Feb. 22. (Photo courtesy Lockheed Martin)"
Plus Zooms from:
http://www.navair.navy.mil/img/uploads/ ... 59_001.jpg
Plus ZOOMs from: http://www.navair.navy.mil/img/uploads/ ... 59_002.jpg
PlusZoomFrom:[FrontOnViewVLf-35B]
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6115/6309 ... 583a_o.jpg

Anybody have any idea why the outboard missile rails are not on the wingtip, like stations 1&9 on the F-16, or the F-18, or Rafale or Typhoon or Gripen?

Meteor wrote:

Anybody have any idea why the outboard missile rails are not on the wingtip, like stations 1&9 on the F-16, or the F-18, or Rafale or Typhoon or Gripen?

My guess would be antennae coverage. That's the reason why the trailing edge of the F-22s wing has that crank.

Meteor wrote:

Anybody have any idea why the outboard missile rails are not on the wingtip, like stations 1&9 on the F-16, or the F-18, or Rafale or Typhoon or Gripen?

Because these are better? Smile

Sorry, couldn't help myself Embarassed

Typhoon has outboard missile rails on its wingtips? Really?

Lower RCS with it under the wing.

With the Wasp on the tail, BF-2 looks ready for a fight.

Anyone know if it was carrying internal weapons, like AF-1 did the other day?

Also I think the wing tip thing is related to the wing shape and stealth. I have never seen a Typhoon or Gripen wing up close, but F-16 and F-18 wings are "flat" on the bottom surface. The F-35 and F-22 have complex curves on the wing tip which would make it interesting to mount a rail there. Additionally the structure needed to mount a rail on the tip would be a pain for RCS. At least that would be my best educated guess.

Sufa Viper

Meteor wrote:

Anybody have any idea why the outboard missile rails are not on the wingtip, like stations 1&9 on the F-16, or the F-18, or Rafale or Typhoon or Gripen?

Permanent wingtip rails would have a negative effect on RCS, even with no missile on them.

Does anyone know the purpose of those little extra 'wings' on the pylons (positions 2, 3, 9, 10 I think) where they mate against the bottom of the wing? Is it just to provide additional stability or to RCS cover some components under them?

Some of this info will be repeated elsewhere earlier however I think I missed the weapon testing part... Rolling Eyes

Here is the earlier repeat thread: Panetta Lifts F-35B Probation
http://www.f-16.net/index.php?name=PNph ... ler#213304

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

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

"...With a much more productive year of testing in 2011 (following the abysmal performance of the Stovl variant in 2010), 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. The major step, he says, is to drop weapons for the first time, a milestone expected in the second half of the year. Likely candidates will be the 500-lb. Joint Direct Attack Munition and the AIM-120 and AIM-9X missiles.

Thus far, the F-35B has been flown to Mach 1.4.

Kelly says he also expects to begin testing a redesigned tailhook for the F-35C in the second half of the year. The current design encountered problems last year when officials attempted rolling tests and the tailhook skipped over the wire owing to its weight and a problem with the dampening system. CF-3 will be the first test aircraft to have the new tailhook installed.

After the initial ship trials with the F-35B last fall, the B model is not expected to go to sea until 2013, with the C model following in 2015, Kelly said.

Aircraft BF-4 is now operating the Block 1A software and BF-5 is using the 1B software package. Kelly said the Block 2 software, which will be used by the Marine Corps to declare operational capability, is not expected at Patuxent River until late this year.

In addition to having multi-level security, the 1B software also will have new voice recognition technology that will allow the pilot to conduct some hands-free operations, such as switching the radio channels and squawking identification codes to air traffic control. Eventually, Kelly says, pilots hope to use the voice recognition technology for such operations as changing multi-function displays or shifting modes in the aircraft...."

From e-mail received....

Really nice to see the gun-pod in the air finally. I was afraid it had been neglected in light of all the other development problems. Hope it works better than those *A-16* experiments back in the day.

Here is the original: http://www.codeonemagazine.com/f35_news ... tem_id=612

"East Coast External Carriage 23 February 2012
Photo by Michael D. JacksonThe first F-35B test flight with external weapons was carried out on 22 February 2012 at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division test facility at NAS Patuxent River Maryland. The test mission, flown by Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Levin, measured flying qualities with external pylons, inert AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, and the removable centerline 25mm gun pod. The four-barrel GAU-22/A Gatlin-type gun, built by General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, is a derivative of the currently fielded GAU-12/U Equalizer. The missionized gun system designed for the F-35B and F-35C includes the F-35A-common GAU-22/A gun, a gun system control unit, and drive assembly. A helical linear linkless ammunition feed system is also contained in the pod."

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/images/n ... 4_8357.jpg

Forum: General F-35 Forum

F-35B completes first flighttest w/ external stores / pylons