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The first Italian F-35 leaves the factory at Cameri in March 2015.
At the Le Bourget Air Show, RID had the opportunity to obtain some exclusive information.
Lockheed Martin is negotiating 150 F-35s with the US Department of Defense, and this order constitutes both LRIP (Low Rater Initial Production) 9 and 10.
The company expects to sign this contract by the end of the year.
Within LRIP 9 and 10, there would be six aircraft for the Italian Air Force and Navy: 2 within LRIP 9 (an F-35A and an F-35B) and four in LRIP 10 (2 F-35As and 2 F-35Bs)
The Italian FACO at Cameri will deliver one plane this year, and one each in 2016 and 2017 with 3 delivered in 2018 followed by 5 in 2019 and 5 in 2020.
Fueling a fighter jet mid-mission isn’t as easy as exiting a highway to top off your tank. It’s really quite a sight to see, as these amazing shots below, captured during recent flight operations at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, prove.
“The main reason military aircraft use aerial refueling is to extend the mission radius of the jet,” explains retired U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 pilot Rolf “Bugsy” Siegel. “For long-range missions, a fighter will take off from their operating base, meet a tanker en-route to top-off, enter enemy territory to perform their mission, and then return back to the tanker to refuel again prior to flying back to land at their operating base.”
Without aerial refueling, many of the long-range missions performed by the fighter jets of today, and those of tomorrow like the F-35, wouldn’t be possible. The same can be said for cross-country, or even trans-ocean flights, for cargo or personnel transit – using a tanker aircraft, you can essentially get a squadron of fighters from where you are to anywhere you need to go. Air refueling is also used for long range missions to deploy combat aircraft from the continental U.S. to overseas locations.
But how do they do it? How does an F-35, shooting through the sky at 240 knots (275 MPH), fly up beside a KC-130J or another tanker and plug in to a 93-foot fuel hose via a circular “basket” only about a foot-and-a-half in diameter? The precision of the task itself seems daunting. So here’s the breakdown of how aerial refueling works.
Rendezvous and Pre-Contact
The first step to aerial refueling is finding a rendezvous point.
“In some cases, this may be somewhere over the ocean if a squadron were transferring to an oversea base,” explains Bugsy, “or it could be a rendezvous point or tanker track normally published in the Air Tasking Order if the aircraft was performing air refueling as part of their mission.”
In the case of the F-35, it’s usually either a point somewhere over the middle of the U.S., when the aircraft are flying cross-country for a base transfer, or somewhere near one of the many training bases. Once the F-35 pilot locates the tanker, they make contact with the pilot and initiate intercept. The flight lead will join closest to the tanker while the wingmen line up in an echelon formation. Next, while the planes are in what is called “pre-contact,” the fighter pilot will adjust mission systems to ensure their radar isn’t interfering with the tanker. In legacy fighters, this involves pushing a few buttons and turning a few knobs. But in the F-35, explains F-35 Contract Instructor Pilot Oscar “Speedy” Alvarez, “it’s simply a matter of selecting the “pre-contact” option selection button (OSB) on the cockpit’s touchscreen, which puts the radar into standby mode.”
Refueling
Once in position, and still in communication with the tanker pilot, the F-35 pilot selects the “Refuel” OSB from his flight control display. On the F-35B and F-35C variants, which use a probe-and-drogue system, this will deploy the refueling probe so that it can connect to the basket on the end of the hose. Once contact is made, the fighter pilot will move the basket up about 10 feet or so and the refueling begins.
For the F-35A variant, which uses a flying boom aerial refueling, the pilot flies in a tight formation with the tanker. An operator at the back of the tanker and the F-35 pilot work together to ensure the boom aligns with the aircraft and is inserted directly into the fuel tank opening.
From there, it’s just a simple matter of starting the fuel flow.
Training
Aerial refueling is “part of the basic training pilots go through,” Speedy says. Before going on a refueling mission, the pilots have already been through most of the learning syllabus at the Pilot Training Center, and have already flown the jets to get some experience. After a lecture explaining the basics of aerial refueling mission planning, aircraft limitations, tanker rendezvous and departure procedures and tanker-specific capabilities, the pilots are sent back to their squadrons to give it a try.
“One of the hardest parts of aerial refueling is learning to fly the probe into the basket smoothly. At times when there is turbulence it’s not as easy as it looks as the basket is relatively light and moves around,” explains Bugsy. “It takes some practice to learn to fly the probe into the basket without too much closure [how fast you are approaching the basket] or angular rates (up/down, left/right) which could damage the basket or the probe on the aircraft.”
Pilots have to complete six “plugs” to achieve their initial “qual” – or qualification – for aerial refueling.
When visiting the USS Wasp and both seeing part of the operational tests as well as discussing those tests with the US and British personnel involved in the testing, one of the highlights was the demonstration of being able to fly the largest module of the F-35B engine directly to the ship via Osprey.
This meant that the speed and range of the Osprey, plus the ability to carry the power module inside the aircraft, provided on-board delivery of a crucial module for future operations at sea for the F-35.
As Lt. Cdr. Beth Kitchen, Royal Navy, OT-1Evoultions Lead, VFMA-501, Beaufort, SC put it during a roundtable during the testing aboard the USS WASP:
One of the bigger successes of this detachment is actually embarking a power module onto the ship, which is about two thirds of the engine.
It was carried on the MV-22, and that arrived last Wednesday, there was a custom made skid that was designed by Pratt and Whitney and put it into the MV-22, it was then offloaded, and then we’ve been able to put it into the hangar and been able to prove that we can move it from the skid it was designed to put into the aircraft onto either a container or one of the maintenance trailers in order to actually conduct the maintenance evolution itself.
That is going to be disembarking tomorrow.
That ensures that we can now replenish a spare module at sea.
It’s a huge achievement to be able to demonstrate that.
But how did the modification of the Osprey occur, and a new capability delivered to the USS WASP, a crucial one in future operations?
It turns out to be an interesting story, one which involved industry working a solution set and offering it to the government and then the Marines and the Joint Program Office funding the effort to go from concept to reality via building a skid to fit inside the Osprey, the one seen aboard the USS WASP.
In a discussion with Pratt and Whitney participants on June 9, 2015, the process was identified and discussed.
Participating in the conference call were Clyde Woltman, now of Aerojet Rocketdyne but formerly of Pratt and Whitney, Michael Chotkowski, the lead for ship integration of the F-35 engine with Pratt and Whitney and Robert Deforge of Pratt and Whitney.
The Osprey flew a key module from the F-35B engine to the WASP. Credit: Second Line of Defense
The origins of the approach started with Woltman and the former Deputy Commandant of Aviation, Lt. General (Retired) Trautman working an approach while at a conference and then taking it to the head of Pratt and Whitney who was also attending the conference in mid-2013.
To be clear, this was only two years before IOC of the aircraft, so time was short to ensure a solution to the power module resupply problem.
This started the intellectual ball rolling and P&W led an effort working with Bell and Boeing to shape a way to use the Osprey to carry the F-35B engine power module aboard the USS WASP.
The F-35B engine is composed of a series of modules, which can ease the challenge of moving an engine aboard and off of a ship at sea.
As Chotkowski put it with regard to the engine: “the F-35 engine is modular”.
This facilitates maintenance for one is able to troubleshoot issues within the engine itself and then isolate the problem to a particular module and then swap it out and replace it with a good module.
This allows the maintainer then to put the engine back together and allow it to fly its next mission, instead of requiring test cells to verify the engine.
With regard to the engine for the B, there are nine modules, five of which are engine related and four of them are lift system related.”
But the largest module is quite large and with the surrounding container to protect the engine, a challenge for normal replenishment methods at sea.
The cables to move parts and supplies between a Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships and carriers or amphibious ships max out at 10,000 pounds of lift, and the engine’s power module is about that weight. This means that mods will have to be made to the cabling lift system to move heavier material, such as the power module.
According to Chotkowski: “There is a 12,000 pound lift system developed but it will go only onto new ships that are being built or will need to be retrofitted in existing Nimitz or L-deck ships, and supply ships, which will require investment dollars.”
The F-35B Power Module being removed from the Osprey onboard the USS Wasp. Credit: USMC
Alternatively, one can carry the power module below a helicopter like the CH-53 but there are the challenges of safely carrying the engine below the helo while operating at sea as well. And MSC can contract a Super Puma, but you would not want to fly an engine “dangling underneath the aircraft for any length of time,” Chotkowski cautioned.
As Chotkowski explained: “We have containers for each one of the modules for the engine as well as the lift system. The one that presents us the biggest problem is the power module because of the fact that the two methods of resupply available to us for those two service’s, that being vertical replenishment (VERTREP) or connected replenishment (CONREP) are both tasked to their maximum extent of the capability that exists today.”
The Osprey seemed a potential solution to this problem, but it first had to be determined whether the module could fit in the Osprey and then if it did so successfully, could it be transported safely given the operating characteristics of the Osprey itself. Being able to carry the power module inside the Osprey, plus its ability to be refueled meant that the Osprey became a very desirable solution set for the power module supply issue.
To determine whether this could be done, industry invested its own money in an effort to shape a possible way ahead.
According to Chotkowski” “Pratt and Whitney started the process and started to look at the capability of utilizing the V-22 to get the loaf of bread inside the breadbox, so to speak.”
Pratt put together a non-disclosure agreement with Bell-Boeing and the companies began to work on how to do this.
As Chotkowski described the process: Bell Boeing was extremely receptive to working with us on a solution.
So we put together an NDA, and then we kicked off a basic design for length, width, height, maximum: how big is the breadbox, and how big is our loaf of bread, and how can we minimize the profile of a container that will transport this power module, but still keep that loaf of bread secure.
The challenge is that the loaf of bread is almost the same size as the inside of the V22. We had about three inches of play.
The Power Module for the F-35 engine was carried onbaord the USS Wasp by an Osprey. Credit Photo: USMC
We had to make a very low-profile skid, and taking into consideration the basics of does it fit and will it go for the ride?
And go for the ride meaning, the engine’s ability to take whatever shock instances the aircraft incurs, either through landing or during loading, or during flight of the aircraft, as well as vibratory considerations with the V22 itself.
Although the Marine Corps was apprised of this activity, there was no requirement no government funding in place for this project. It was company driven, but customer appraised.
The Marines did fly an Osprey to the P&W facilities in Connecticut during the evaluation process, so that the P&W engineers could have accurate measurements and discuss operations with loadmasters and aircrew to craft a realistic solution set, including loading and unloading the module through the door which was about the size of the module with container cover.
Secretary Stackley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research Development and Acquisition) pushed hard for a solution set for the power module resupply problem and the emerging skid solution seemed to fit the bill.
Industry designed the concept skid. This was an eight to nine month process. But the next step was for the Marine Corps working with the Joint Program Office to build the rapid prototype skid seen aboard the USS WASP. Major General Walsh, Director of Expeditionary Warfare in OPNAV, was instrumental in transitioning the effort from industry to JPO sponsorship, and the JPO money crucial in funding the prototype skid.
In short, the next phase of the Osprey now includes modification to become the key connector for power module resupply for the Navy fleet in support of the USMC.
And this was done by the Marine Corps network in industry, working with the Navy and Marine Corps in shaping a solution funded by the JPO in moving the F-35 program one step closer to 21st Century combat reality.
For the first six pieces of the series on the Osprey see the following:
05/30/2015: On May 26, 2015, several journalists flew to the USS WASP aboard an Osprey from the Pentagon to the ship, which was operating off of the North Carolina coast.
In addition to viewing the ops of the F-35B aboard the ship, there was opportunity to talk with the crew about the operational testing aboard the ship of the F-35B.
6 planes are onboard; 4 from Yuma (Green Knights) and 2 from Beaufort.
The planes from Yuma flew to Beaufort and all 6 then flew aboard the ship from Beaufort.
Maintainers were from these two squadrons plus VMX-22 and reports aboard the ships from the maintenance side were that the plane was very maintainable at sea.
The slideshow shows one of the planes taking off aboard the ship during the morning’s sorties from and to the ship.
There were several.
And at the start of the day there had been 88 sorties since OT started last week.
The plane has nearly 11,000 flight hours to date, much of that accumulated in the last 2 1/2 years.
After shipboard integration operational testing, next up is weapons certification for the operational pilots of air to air and air to ground weapons.
These weapons have already been tested in the Developmental Testing phase.
IOC will be this summer for the Green Knights at Yuma.
2015-05-30 At the Copenhagen Symposium on Air power held in April, the head of training for the Royal Dutch Air Force focused on training for Dutch pilots as they transitioned to an all fifth generation force.
He also indicated that the bulk of their F-35s would be built in Italy.
And at the Expo Milan European Air Chiefs Conference held earlier this month, the heads of the two air forces signed a training agreement.
Aerospace capabilities belong to advanced technology sectors where Euro-Atlantic countries play the leading role, and they still represent an essential element of the European Defence System, as well as a fundamental pillar for the general, shared growth of our nations. “Italy firmly believes in the European Defence process- the Minister added- and is aware that the only way to build it isby operating together, as we did during the Italian Presidency of the EU”.
During the meeting the Italian and Dutch Air Chiefs, Generals Pasquale Preziosa and Alexander Schnitger, signed an agreement on training activities to be held at Galatina Flight School.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force’s Pilots will train in Italy on Finmeccanica – Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346 trainers in service with the Italian Air Force.
In fact, during the European Air Chief Conference (EURAC), which yearly gathers Chiefs of Air Forces from EU Countries and currently held in Expo Milan 2015, the Chief of the Italian Air Force, Lieutenant General Pasquale Preziosa, and the Executive Commander of Koninklijke Luchtmacht (the Royal Netherlands Air Force), Lieutenant General Alexander Schnitger, signed a cooperation agreement in the field of flight training, at the presence of the Italian Ministry of Defense, Roberta Pinotti.
The agreement envisages the detachment of an instructor and two student pilots of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, to be stationed at ItAF’s Lecce-Galatina AFB Flight School, which is considered as a center of excellence as far as military pilots training is concerned. It is the two countries’ intention that this first group of pilots represent the starting point for a fruitful cooperation to be extended for years to come. The Royal Netherlands Air Force’s Pilots will follow the standard training programmes of the Italian military pilots. The training system is already acknowledged and appreciated by other countries, which have sent their personnel to train at the Lecce-Galatina school. Recently reconfigured to catch up with operational and technological advances, thanks to the entry in service of the new Finmeccanica-Alenia’s M-346 trainers (called T-346 by the Italian Air Force), the new training programme is in fact evaluated with great interest by several air forces that plan to operate new-generation aircraft.
On another part of the Finmeccanica website progress with regard to the Italian role in the F-35 program is highlighted as well:
After three years of development of the capability and productive innovation of Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi, the first “Full Wing” for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft has officially left the factory in Cameri (Novara) on its 40 day consignment by ship to the United States, to be fitted as part of the final assembly of the AF088, one of the types of fighter-bombers to go into use with the US Air Force.
This first “Full Wing” is the result of the excellent production capability of the Italian aeronautical industry: the main components in fact have been produced in our country, starting with the “bulkhead”, produced in the Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi factory in Nola, through the wing panels and “nacelles” in composite materials made in Foggia, down to the structural parts produced by some of our top national suppliers.
The complete “Full Wing” wing section may be considered as the fundamental part of the aircraft, seeing that it comprises the central section of the fuselage with its two half wings.
In Cameri the assembly stage of the structural sub-assemblies (“Wing Carry Through” and “Outer Wing Box”) is carried out, followed by installation and integration of all the hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical systems, including operating tests and final testing of fuel tank sealing, in order to hand over a “component”, the Full Wing, ready to connect to the other segments and complete the aircraft.
The total production order envisaged for the Italian program is 835 “Full Wings”, including those ordered to equip the aircraft of our own Air Force.
So the delivery of the first “Full Wing” is only the first step of a considerable, extensive and lasting production effort and an important goal for the entire JSF program, just a few days after the roll-out of the first Italian aircraft.
Exactly 3 years have now passed since March 2012, when “Cameri Interim”, two buildings made available by the Italian Air Force, supplied the first pair of “Inner Wing Modules”: since then, the buildings have been constructed, the assembly equipment has been ordered and installed and the assembly of the first units has been completed, not only for the production of the wings, but also the final assembly line for the aircraft.
And now that wing has been installed on an F-35 production aircraft at Fort Worth.
F-35A LIGHTNING II WITH FIRST ITALIAN-MADE WING-SET ENTERS ASSEMBLY LINE
FORT WORTH, Texas, May 21, 2015 – The first F-35A wing-set produced by Italy’s Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi entered the F-35 production line in Fort Worth, marking a milestone for the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)-Alenia Aermacchi collaboration on the program.
Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi produced the full wing-set at the F-35 Final Assembly & Check-Out (FACO) facility in Cameri, Italy. The entry into the Electronic Mate and Assembly (EMAS) – where the forward fuselage, wing-set and aft fuselage are joined, is an important production milestone for Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi’s F-35 program, exhibiting high performance on a vital part of the aircraft while demonstrating the key involvement of the Italian aerospace industry.
The work contracted to Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi, a strategic co-supplier of F-35A full wing assemblies, is one of the largest manufacturing projects for the Italian F-35 program, with 835 full wing assemblies planned.
The Cameri FACO is owned by the Italian government and operated by Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi in association with Lockheed Martin.
The Cameri FACO’s F-35 production operations began in July 2013 and rolled out Italy’s first F-35A aircraft, AL-1, in March; its first flight anticipated there later this year.
The FACO will assemble both Italy’s F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variants and F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variants, and is scheduled to assemble the Netherlands’ F-35A aircraft in the future.
The F-35s will replace Italian Air Force and Italian Navy AV-8 Harriers, Panavia Tornados and AMX fighters.
“From the beginning of the program, Italian industry has influenced the aircraft’s design and capabilities. Italian-made parts and components are installed in every F-35 produced,” said Jack Crisler, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Business Development vice president. “Italian industry will support the F-35 for more than 30 years, from production of parts and final assembly of aircraft to replacement parts and regional sustainment work.”
05/29/2015: On May 26, 2015, several journalists flew to the USS WASP aboard an Osprey from the Pentagon to the ship, which was operating off of the North Carolina coast.
In addition to viewing the ops of the F-35B aboard the ship, there was opportunity to talk with the crew about the operational testing aboard the ship of the F-35B.
6 planes are onboard; 4 from Yuma (Green Knights) and 2 from Beaufort.
The planes from Yuma flew to Beaufort and all 6 then flew aboard the ship from Beaufort.
Maintainers were from these two squadrons plus VMX-22 and reports aboard the ships from the maintenance side were that the plane was very maintainable at sea.
The slideshow shows three of the pilots doing the sorties aboard the ship, one from Beaufort and two from Yuma.
There were several sorties that morning.
And at the start of the day there had been 88 sorties since OT started last week.
The plane has nearly 11,000 flight hours to date, much of that accumulated in the last 2 1/2 years.
After shipboard integration operational testing, next up is weapons certification for the operational pilots of air to air and air to ground weapons.
These weapons have already been tested in the Developmental Testing phase. IOC will be this summer for the Green Knights at Yuma.
USS WASP, At Sea — As the first operational test of the F-35B Lightning II takes place aboard the USS Wasp this week, service members from the United Kingdom are working alongside their U.S. Navy and Marine Corps counterparts to assess the integration of the F-35B into amphibious military operations.
“United Kingdom participation in the F-35 program has been absolutely critical to our success,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, Program Executive Officer for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office. “Since the beginning, UK test pilots and engineers have been fully integrated and work shoulder-to shoulder with us as we deliver the F-35 to the warfighter.”
Sixteen Royal Navy and Royal Air Force members embedded aboard the ship during the operational tests. They serve as F-35 operational assessors, ship integration team members, aircraft technicians and maintenance crews.
The Royal Navy’s vision for tactical integration of the F-35B into their current arsenal is similar to the Marine Corps’ plan to integrate the F-35 with legacy aircraft, such as the AV-8B Harrier and the F/A-18 Hornet, and gradually phase out legacy aircraft over the coming decades.
“By 2020, U.K. combat airpower will consist of Typhoon and F-35B Lightning II, a highly potent and capable mix of fourth and fifth generation fighter aircraft. With Typhoon already established as one of the premier multi-role fighters in the world, the F-35 brings a complementary next-generation level of survivability and lethality. This will ultimately provide the UK with an unprecedented level of capability in a single platform,” said Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Neil Mathieson, the UK’s F-35B Ship Integration Lead.
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Matthew Kelly, military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, provides background on the Marine Corps’ F-35B program to Air Marshall Bollam, Chief of Defence Material Air, United Kingdom, aboard USS Wasp while embarked in the Atlantic Ocean May 20, 2015. The current Marine Corps operational test, scheduled to continue through the end of May, will assess the integration of the F-35B while operating across a wide array of flight and deck operations, maintenance operations and logistical supply chain support in an at-sea environment. A former test pilot and career Marine aviator, Kelly participated in the earlier shipboard developmental tests of the F-35B. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots are scheduled to begin flying the F-35B from the UK in 2018, and are on track to operate from the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers in 2020.
A mechanical engineer by trade, Mathieson is working with the Marine Corps aboard USS Wasp for the duration of OT-1.
Mathieson explained that a range of advanced sensors, combined with increased processing power, enables the F-35B to fuse the vast array of information collected into a single picture. This equips the F-35 pilot with a level of situational awareness previously unavailable within a fighter cockpit and an ability to share this instantaneous, high-fidelity view of ongoing operations with other platforms at sea, in the air, or on the ground through advanced datalinks.
“The unique, low observable nature of the F-35 will also allow unprecedented access to very high-threat environments, allowing the U.K. to conduct operations across the full range of operational scenarios, day or night, in fair or inclement weather,” said Mathieson.
During the two week operational test, the Marine Corps and U.K. counterparts are assessing the integration of the F-35B while operating across a wide array of flight and deck operations. Specific OT-1 objectives include demonstrating and assessing day and night flight operations in varying aircraft configurations; digital interoperability of aircraft and ship systems; F-35B landing signal officer’s launch and recovery software; day and night weapons loading; and all aspects of maintenance, logistics, and sustainment support of the F-35B while deployed at sea. Additionally, the joint and international team is working closely with Naval Sea Systems Command to assess specific modifications made to USS Wasp. This will be particularly beneficial for the U.K.’s future program, which will include integration of the F-35B with their new class of amphibious ships.
“Our Queen Elizabeth Class carriers are the largest and most powerful warships ever built in the U.K.,” said Mathieson. “They are capable of the widest range of roles, from defense diplomacy and humanitarian assistance to full combat operations, providing flexibility and choice throughout their 50-year life.”
In February, the United Kingdom stood up their first F-35 squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The historic 17 (Reserve) Squadron is now responsible for the entire operational test and evaluation of the UK’s F-35s. Personnel from 17 (R) Squadron, comprised of engineers and pilots from the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, fly and maintain the two UK F-35B jets independently from their U.S. colleagues.
“The U.K. team is involved in every facet of F-35B maintenance during OT-1,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Michael Dehner, the Department of the Navy F-35 Operational Test Director. “That includes avionics, air frames, power lines, quality assurance and flight equipment. They’re going to glean valuable lessons that will be critically useful as they move from the developmental to the operational phase of F-35B integration.”
U.K. F-35B pilots will begin operating the next generation stealth fighter from home bases in England starting in 2018, and are on track to fly from Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers in 2020. The U.K. has played a major role in the program throughout the System Design and Demonstration phase, and has a program of record to procure the F-35B in the coming years.
