F-35B Lightning (RAF & RN)

[SKB]

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multi-role fighters undergoing testing and final development. The fifth generation combat aircraft is designed to perform ground attack, aerial reconnaissance, and air defence missions.The F-35 has three main models:

F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant
F-35B short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) variant
F-35C carrier-based Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) variant.

The F-35 is descended from the X-35, which was the winning design of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin. Other major F-35 industry partners include Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney and BAE Systems. The F-35 took its first flight on 15 December 2006.

F-35 JSF development is being principally funded by the United States with additional funding from partners. The partner nations are the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Turkey. Several additional countries have ordered, or are considering ordering, the F-35.

For the United Kingdom, the F-35B STOVL variant has been chosen for use by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. In September 2013, it was announced that 809 Naval Air Squadron was to be reformed by to become the first Fleet Air Arm squadron to be equipped with the F-35B Lightning II.

809 NAS squadron will operate alongside 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (the 'Dam Busters'), and will be stationed at RAF Marham when not deployed aboard one of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. It will consist of both Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel.

809 Naval Air Squadron Thread: http://ukdefenceforum.net/viewtopic.php ... 2643#p2643
617 Squadron Thread: http://ukdefenceforum.net/viewtopic.php ... 2660#p2660

[Gabriele]

Status of the development; state of the british programme, and a word on plans for british weapons integration in Block IV: http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot ... pdate.html

[Geoff_B]

Status of the development; state of the british programme, and a word on plans for british weapons integration in Block IV: http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot ... pdate.html

How do you gauge the ongoing Bulkhead saga Gabriele ?, for all the other progress we still have a main bulkhead thats not fit for purpose especially in a carrier based STOVL only operation ?

[just-me-again]

do you knjow how many the UK has ordered?

[The Armchair Soldier]

do you knjow how many the UK has ordered?

A first batch of 48 is all that we have confirmed at the moment, with the next batch to be decided in the 2015 SDSR.

[SKB]

do you knjow how many the UK has ordered?

Looks like UK actually owns four so far.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... oject.html

[Pseudo]

Am I the only one thinking that we might only get 48 to 60 B's with the other 78 to 90 being ordered as A's with an in service date of the mid to late 2020's to replace the Typhoon?

[arfah]

............

[Pseudo]

Replace Tornado, perhaps ?

I read somewhere that Typhoons had been exercising with the F35B during Red Flag to evaluate potential network centric possibilities and sensor fusion.

The cynic in me says that the Tornado won't be replaced and the capability will be provided by the existing Typhoons once Brimstone, Storm Shadow etc. integration is completed.

[arfah]

............

[Pseudo]

It's a possibility.

There's only 7 frontline squadrons, after all

The way I see it, the UK has already invested quite heavily in to the F-35 programme, so ideally we'll want to get as much as we can out of it and maintain our international prestige by fulfilling our commitment to buy 138 of them. So we'll buy enough B's for four squadrons and then work the Typhoons hard before replacing them with the rest of the F-35 commitment, maybe five squadrons or so. The justification will be that the F-35B's are jointly operated by the RAF and FAA, so there'll still be seven squadrons of F-35's available to the RAF even if two squadrons are embarked on a carrier, which in itself will be a rare occurance since there'll usually only be a single squadron embarked.

[marktigger]

this all reliant on the US not pulling the plug. But there are still major questions about performance.

[seaspear]

Is it correct that the UK f35b is only envisioned operating off the carriers ,could they be used in forward bases as the U.S marines used their Harriers in Afghanistan and before that R.A.F harriers in the days of the Warsaw pact being deployed to roadsides in practice of runway denial

[Pseudo]

Is it correct that the UK f35b is only envisioned operating off the carriers ,could they be used in forward bases as the U.S marines used their Harriers in Afghanistan and before that R.A.F harriers in the days of the Warsaw pact being deployed to roadsides in practice of runway denial

I thought there was some mention of their needing to be some sort of specially build landing surface for VTOL operations. Either way I'd think that four F-35B squadrons would allow for a squadron to be deployed in theatre under normal circumstances where the carriers are only deploying with one squadron in normal deployments.

[Gabriele]

Repeated vertical landings would require a pad to be assembled with mat panels. But then again, with the Harrier it is the same. For a history of VTOL, forward basing and a debunking of the AM-2 mat panic stories, read this: http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot ... panic.html

[Pseudo]

Repeated vertical landings would require a pad to be assembled with mat panels. But then again, with the Harrier it is the same. For a history of VTOL, forward basing and a debunking of the AM-2 mat panic stories, read this: http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot ... panic.html

Thanks, clearly I'll believe any old crap that I've half remembered.

[SKB]

809 NAS Squadron will operate alongside 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (the 'Dam Busters'), and both will be stationed at RAF Marham when not deployed aboard one of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. It will consist of both Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel.

[jonas]

do you knjow how many the UK has ordered?

http://www.janes.com/article/46164/uk-o ... t-aircraft

[seaspear]

Has the matting for forward bases been ordered then of a type used by the USMC and could a ramp be assembled with such for increased range of the f35 as believed the advantage of on the carriers

[seaspear]

Has the matting for forward bases been ordered then of a type used by the USMC and could a ramp be assembled with such for increased range of the f35 as believed the advantage of on the carriers

[Gabriele]

Unspecified quantities of matting are no doubt held, also because it is also useful for runway damage repairs.

An expeditionary ski jump, instead, hasn't ever been sought, as far as i can recall. Don't think it is quite worth it. On land, pressure to shorten to the max the lenght of the take off run should be inferior, even in the worst cases.

[downsizer]

Unspecified quantities of matting are no doubt held

Are they? No doubt?

[Gabriele]

Unspecified quantities of matting are no doubt held

Are they? No doubt?

I would really think so. There sure used to be a mix of american AM-2 and british MEXE available. Despite claims of it having "all gone down with the Atlantic Conveyor".

[downsizer]

I find the presumptions people make astounding at times

[Think Defence]

The MoD purchased 4,700 tonnes of AM-2 at a cost of £10m to improve and repair the runway at Port Stanley in 1982 until Mount Pleasant was completed