2015-02-16 The F-35 will be operated by the US and its allies worldwide.

The planning from the beginning has been to build and deploy an aircraft to operate within the wide variety of climatic conditions which such a fleet from the outset would encounter.

Norway can expect to fly in the Baltic, the North Sea and the Arctic.

Australia will fly in the arid region of Western Australia, and Edwards AFB is no stranger to heat.

The F-35 is nearing completion of its climatic testing.

In the photos below in the slideshow, photos provided by Sylvia Pierson, the Public Affairs Officer for the F-35 Lightning II Pax River Integrated Task Force in Pax River. provides an overview to date on some of the testing, from the arrival of the plane to hot and cold testing.

The final photo is just there because it is a great one showing the F-35B operating in the snow at Pax River.

And this story published by Eglin AFB on February 4, 2015 provides an overview on the process:

Within the decade, the F-35 Lightning II will be deployed to all corners of the globe—from the icy mountains of Norway to the scorching desert of Australia—and we must ensure the aircraft can perform in these dynamic environments.

To do this, we look no further than a structure straight out of the post-World War II era: the McKinley Climate Testing Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

The McKinley Climatic Laboratory, known simply as the “climatic chamber,” has been the home of climate testing for every aircraft developed since 1947. It has become a “rite of passage” for all aircraft on their journey to Initial Operating Capability (IOC).

As the F-35 approaches its IOC debut for the U.S. Marine Corps in 2015, it too must be put through the rigors of the climatic chamber. Only this time, the test is being performed differently than ever before.

To accommodate the swiveling engine nozzle and lift-fan system of the Lightning II, a 12-foot high “restraint and support” structure interwoven with a system of ventilation ducts was designed. This apparatus secures the F-35 and allows it to operate at high power in both conventional and Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing (STOVL) mode while inside the building.

Ventilation of the exhaust is vital to maintaining a stable temperature inside the chamber. Conditioned air is constantly pumped in to ensure the pressure in the building is always higher than the pressure inside the ducts surrounding the engine and other openings on the aircraft. This difference in pressure is a safeguard that maintains the jet exhaust is flowing out of the chamber through the ducts, allowing the facility to sustain a constant temperature. 

Water spraying from the ducting at the back of the engine absorbs some sound wave vibrations emitted from the engine that is capable of generating 40,000 pounds of thrust—thereby decreasing decibel levels in the chamber.

Now, it’s time to play Mother Nature.

Heating Things Up

To kick off climatic testing, engine runs are conducted at a precise set of temperatures. Over a series of days, the temperature is steadily and incrementally increased until it reaches the test maximum of 120 degrees. While the chamber itself is set to a pre-determined temperature, additional solar lamps above the aircraft recreate the intense heat of the sun on the surface of the jet.

In reality, air temperature does not remain constant throughout the day—it increases each hour the sun is up, reaching its apex in the late afternoon. In the chamber, engineers recreate the temperature fluctuation of a 24-hour day.

Much like a car bakes in the sun on a summer day, so can the F-35 Lightning. To recreate the environment in which a jet is left outside on the flight line at, say, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, the jet remains powered down in the chamber until it reaches the simulated day’s maximum temperature. Once temperatures peak, the test team fires up the aircraft—much like a pilot would on a typical, sweltering afternoon at Yuma.

Keeping It Cool

In a matter of days, the chamber transitions from a devilishly hot sauna to the Arctic Circle. Outside air is super-cooled using McKinley Lab’s refrigeration system and pushed into the chamber. In increments, the chamber walks its way down to -40 degrees while the jet completes test runs along the way.

At such frigid temperatures, aircraft fluids start to thicken and mechanisms operate slower—all points upon which test engineers keep a watchful eye as the temperatures dip dangerously low.

Successfully completing cold testing is another crucial step in the F-35’s journey towards IOC, because the F-35 would experience this type of environment while operating in Canada or Norway.

Let It Snow

Next, the Lightning II faces its harshest climate yet: a barrage of snow and ice that would have Santa Claus shaking in his boots. 

When the F-35 hurtles through the clouds at high speeds in freezing climates, large pieces of ice can form quickly on the aircraft’s exterior. These heavy chunks of ice may break off and damage the aircraft, errantly fly into the engine or create a Foreign Object Damage (FOD) concern. For this reason, icing is one of the most dangerous elements in climatic testing.

In front of the jet sits a large apparatus composed of three massive cylinders stacked in a pyramid, parallel to the ground. Inside these cylinders are a total of nine ducted fans that blow a huge amount of air through a single funnel in the front, like a giant hairdryer. Attached to the front of this funnel is a spray bar capable of producing “clouds” of various water droplet sizes. 

These droplets are blown toward the plane and freeze upon contact. While the lab cannot generate the precise wind speeds experienced by airborne aircraft, the unique setup inside the chamber is capable of producing sustained wind speeds up to 120 miles per hour—all while spewing precipitation at the F-35.

Snow and ice testing gauges the effectiveness of the aircraft’s Ice Protection System and the ability of the jet to perform in winter weather.

When It Rains, It Pours

For its final test, it is time to take the F-35 into the center of a hurricane—so to speak. To gauge how a Lightning II would hold up sitting uncovered on the flight line at a place such as Eglin AFB, the McKinley Climatic Laboratory is equipped with a system of “rain frames” that drench the jet with steady rainfall.

During rain testing, the F-35 is soaked in rainfall ranging from 1.1 inches per hour, all the way to 3.3 inches per hour. With driving rain inevitably comes gusty wind. Following the steady soak, a spray bar is placed at various positions around the aircraft. Behind this pole is a large industrial fan that generates sustained winds of 44 miles per hour in the direction of the spray bar and the F-35—creating a tropical storm-like environment that drenches the jet at that particular angle.

Whether soaring across the equator or over the tip of the northern hemisphere, the F-35 Lightning II must be ready to encounter any environment in its pursuit to defend our skies. The McKinley Climatic Laboratory helps us ensure we will be ready—no matter what Mother Nature brings. 

 

 

2015-02-11 The UK is a key partner in the global F-35 program.

And as Group Captain, Paul Godfrey, QBE,  an aviator involved in the introduction of the aircraft into the British forces. has noted:

Godfrey has been involved with Typhoon training with the F-22.

Based on that experience, Godfrey commented

The F-22 has unprecedented situational awareness.

And working with Typhoon, the F-22 enhanced our survivability and augmented our lethality.

The F-22 functions is a significant Situational Awareness (SA) gap filler for the operation of a fourth generation aircraft.”

He underscored that, as good as the F-22 is, the enhanced fusion engine and advanced combat systems of the F-35 are a significant force for overall defence transformation.

“Indeed, the impact of the F-35 will be felt on the total UK defence force; not just on the RAF.  It is a force multiplier, and can be used to help transform our combat forces, to do what you have called force insertion.”

Godfrey emphasized that managing the force mix was an essential part of introducing the F-35 into the UK service.

We will be using 4th and 5th generation aircraft for a long time in what we believe will be an incredibly potent force mix;

And on the Queen Elizabeth carriers will be mixing rotorcraft with fast jets and other combat capabilities as well to further enhance our power projection capabilities.

An update has been provided by a story on the UK MOD website on February 9, 2015:

Engineers, pilots and maintainers from 17(R) Squadron have started work on the British F-35B Lightning II aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Their work is to test and evaluate the aircraft to make sure that when it comes into service it will be the best of its kind for the Royal Navy’s futureAircraft Carriers and the Royal Air Force.

But before the Squadron were able to start testing under UK regulations, they had to put processes in place to allow testing and evaluating of the UK’s first F-35 Lightning II. And so today, 9 February, 17(R) Squadron are marking this responsibility.

Chief Technician Daniel Foulkes, from the Royal Air Force, is the Maintenance Controller for 17(R) Squadron. His role is to co-ordinate all the maintenance for the UK F-35.

Daniel Foulkes said:

“The advance in technology has really helped with the maintenance of the F-35. We’re using computers now whereas before we were relying on using usual manual methods. So it’s sped up a lot of the testing and made the whole process more efficient.

There’s a lot of excitement here since the F-35 arrived. We’ve spent a long time getting UK processes and regulations in place so that we can receive the aircraft and start testing the aircraft ourselves.”

Commanding Officer of 17(R) Squadron, Wing Commander James Beck, said:

“For a pilot, it’s a dream come true to fly from Edwards [Air Force Base]. It’s where Chuck Yeager flew his mission and now we’re the first nation outside of America to fly independently under our own regulations.”

As well as working in an international testing environment, 17(R) Squadron has another unique quality in that it is made up of Royal Navy as well as Royal Air Force personnel.

Squadron member Gary Lister is a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy. His role is to maintain the ejection seats and crew escape system, as well as managing the weapons on the aircraft.

Fully trained in avionics and having served 28 years in the Royal Navy, Gary has seen the aircraft transform over the years. From helicopters to Harriers, Gary has worked on a spectrum of aircraft, but it is with the F-35B Lightning II that Gary has been able to give his engineering skills a real boost.

Gary said:

“It has a myriad of sensors and technologies which means every aspect of the aircraft is constantly being tested. This means when snags are found, they aren’t just fixed, but analyzed and scrutinized to help future fault diagnosis and streamline the maintenance effort.”

By testing the aircraft operationally at Edwards the Squadron will be able to put the aircraft through its paces at an operational tempo and prove its potential as a true multi role 5th Generation aircraft.

2015-01-25 By Ed Timperlake

Former CO VMFA-321

Recently I attended an Air Force association news briefing by Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, the AF general who oversees the service’s nuclear weapons delivery systems, and during this briefing he expressed his frustration with asserted facts journalism.

“There are publications out there that are already saying, ‘You don’t need this. It’s too expensive. It’s not going to work.’ We don’t even know what it is yet, per se,” Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration said at an Air Force Association breakfast in Arlington, Virginia.

“It’s already starting. … They are already out there, the usual suspects that have been against every modernization, every recapitalization out there. Don’t listen to them ladies and gentlemen,” he said.

Unfortunately, James Fallows, one of the most talented writers in America, is using his powerful megaphone, has joined the cue of asserted facts journalists the General was referring to.

He does it very cleverly by channeling Napoleon, an historic military genius, to bolster his argument.

The name Napoleon also is synonymous with a “complex” of overcompensation so regardless of his use of Napoleon’s words his article is fatally flawed.

“The moral is to the physical as three is to one,’ Napoleon said about the elements of military strength. Two signs that would make Napoleon worry.”

The first of his two signs of “genuinely bad news” is the frustration being seen by Dr. Michael Gilmore the bureaucratic head of the Pentagon Testing office about the F-35.

Fallows then quotes a powerful message about aerial combat from this very well educated Nuclear Engineer.

“Gilmore warned that unless ‘immediate action is taken to remedy these deficiencies,’ the aircraft’s ability to ‘be effective in combat is at substantial risk.’

The second alarm bell in the same article is an event in the military combat aviation debate over the future of A-10.

In Fallows’s A-10 section, he brings specific focus on the words of a USAF General Officer about the A-10 and the General’s awkward verbal engagement with fellow combat pilots.

The General used the word “treason” about leaks to the Hill. “Treason” was a big oops over the top verbal moment however it is actually against the law for anyone in the Executive Department to lobby the Hill.

The Anti-Lobbying Act underwent major revisions in 2002 that broadened but also clarified the restrictions on lobbying activities by federal personnel.

In addition, the 2002 amendments removed the criminal penalties and substituted civil penalties, with fines that range from $10,000 to $100,000 dollars for each individual violation of the law which, like the proposed changes in the Hatch Act, make it more likely that federal personnel may be punished for violations of the Anti-Lobbying Act.

To make the very public point even stronger there is a picture of the general included in that section.

Sadly, for a decorated combat pilot he is now in the center of a media bulls eye, and the article can be seen as a very powerful writer/editor triggering for additional critics a “cleared-hot” pile on of written vilification of this individual.

As the first Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Public Affairs at the DVA, I often had to explain what senior officials, were really trying to say when a story gained critical mass.

I learned that often words poorly spoken but absent true malice, can make for a horrible time for a human being when the media rips into you. It is especially hurtful for an honorable individual who has dedicated his life to protecting and serving America.

Rather blunt criticism of the statement quoted in the Fallows article:

“This is morally reprehensible conduct by someone in a position of such trust and responsibility that it is implausible to think he wouldn’t know better”

Actually the response from the USAF Air Combat Command about the Generals comments being hyperbole is about right.

Many many times in a Fighter Ready Room “debate” we called each other much worse –“what are you a frigging Communist?” (Editorial note-I just substituted “frigging” for a stronger word), and if overheard or leaked to a reporter this headline could be written-“Fighter Pilot claims his squadron is filled with Commies.”

So to summarize the journalistic approach in The Atlantic article; James Fallows attacked the  F-35 using  observations about combat effectiveness made by Dr. Gilmore, a non-flying civilian, who is not even an aeronautical engineer, while putting in play an AF General Officer as a vilification target.

Strong words are in play —“Treason”, “Fascism,” “morally reprehensible conduct.”

Enough, and perhaps from a genuine human decency perspective all critics should heed the great line from the movie Stripes-“lighten up Francis.”

The fatal flaw in The Atlantic is simple, res ipsa loquitur-the thing speaks for itself.

James Fallows is using a non-aviator to critique the F-35’s combat capability while in the same article he introduced the words of AF General Officer about the A-10.

To further embrace military wisdom as top cover he concludes by yet again channeling Napoleon’s legacy.

“From Napoleon onward, and actually long before, commanders and historians of battle have emphasized that moral traits — commitment, cohesion, belief in the rightness of a cause—matter more in combat than simple material strength.”

Well two can play the game of channeling a highly respected world-class historic person only this time in journalism.

I am as much a journalist as James Fallows is a military officer so let’s all read the brilliant words of the esteemed Walter Lippman to point out the state of modern journalism:

When distant and unfamiliar and complex things are communicated to great masses of people, the truth suffers a considerable and often a radical distortion.

The complex is made over into the simple, the hypothetical into the dogmatic, and the relative into an absolute.

The genuinely bad news about journalism is simple: instead of Walter Lippmans we are getting a surge of asserted facts journalism.

The Atlantic article fails at the most basic level because the reporter doesn’t reach out to the Combat Pilots who will eventually fight and win or die in bringing the F-35 into a worldwide fleet.

They are the ones who can put the aircraft in operational testing and combat context not a team headed by a Nuclear Engineer no matter how smart.

So why is one General Officer’s picture presented yet no serving F-35 pilot mentioned?

From Eglin AFB, to MCAS Yuma, Nellis AFB and NAS Fallon the results are already in– the F-35 is nothing like any aircraft ever flown before.

It is not the physical flying characteristics that are marveled at, it is the cockpit sensor stealth electronic revolution.

https://www.sldinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/21st-Century-Approach-to-Tron-Warfare.pdf

The key take away from The Atlantic article is what is not reported which are the views and experiences of all F-35 qualified combat pilots in USAF, Navy, Marines and allied nations who are currently training, and evolving combat tactics for the F-35 to be successfully integrated into today’s fighting forces.

As one of the RAF officers responsible for the introduction of the F-35 into the UK forces, Group Captain Paul Godfrey highlighted in an interview in November 2014:

“There are 115 F-35s flying now.

We are focused on how we are going to use the capability, not whether it will exist.

There is a huge gap between the users of the aircraft and the broader puzzlement over the future outside of the warrior community; we are just getting on with it.”

While more direct than most, the Group Captain’s comments reflects the reality as seen by those in the U.S. services and in U.S. allied partners involved in bringing the F-35 fleet to life.

It starts with the USMC, F-35B and will accelerate through the next three years.

The USAF recently had its first F-35A arrive at Nellis AFB configured for the rollout of their first squadron next year.

We have had the opportunity to visit three key centers for the operational launch for the F-35, MAWTS-1 MCAS Yuma, and VMX-22 for the USMC, Naval Strike Air Warfare Center, NAS Fallon for the USN and Nellis’s Air Warfare Center for the USAF.

In all three centers F-35 teams are looking both inward and also reaching out to work jointly with each service partner to help integrate the aircraft within airpower legacy technology and operations.

The coming iterative dynamic sharing, of new training, tactics and technological innovations is especially noteworthy because throughout that never ending process allies will also add their perspectives to the learning cycle.

MAWTS, for USMC F-35B:

https://www.sldinfo.com/mawts-1-and-shaping-the-future-of-usmc-aviation-within-the-marine-corps/

USAF Weapons School for F-35A:

https://www.sldinfo.com/arrival-of-f-35a-at-nellis-afb/

USN Fallon (Last to get F-35, the F-35C):

https://sldinfo.com/flipbooks/Distributed%20Laydown/TheFutureofNavalAviationNovember2014/

And there clearly are  journalists who actually do field research:

https://www.sldinfo.com/an-update-on-the-f-35-final-assembly-line/

Asserted facts journalists have clearly distorted the public debate; some would even say have dominated it.

This is important in an of itself, but it also creates an instinct which looks for the “gotcha” rather than addressing how democratic societies can effectively defend themselves going forward in a challenging decade ahead.

One such issue will be the pubic treatment of the inevitable first crash of an F-35 sometime in the future

Since The Atlantic put the OSD testing office front and center on the F-35 as the only experts it is now time to finally bring up very sensitive additional dimension to the F-35 debate.

Realistically and sadly an F-35 will eventually crash and it is time to put that future event on the table.

When a crash occurs everyone will pray the pilots survives. Military airplanes fly and some eventually crash.

This is when the F-35 debate may really get ugly since there are apparently no boundaries in the OSD testing office and how they are often reported on as the only experts.

From the article Dr. Gilmore has already exceeded his personal knowledge and experience by definitively stating his view on combat effectiveness, “the aircraft’s ability to ‘be effective in combat is at substantial risk.”

Has anyone on Dr. Gilmore’s staff even flown and qualified as a trained combat aviator on the F-35 in AA, AG and Electronic warfare?

If so then it would be much more helpful and credible to put their insights on the record in order to advance a real operational test debate.

The public record shows that many media articles are solely based on reports by the OSD non-flying “testing” office.

This is not a criticism of their educational and or military background because I am sure when presented with their resumes the Gilmore team can be seen as smart inside their assigned mission including having combat and test pilots perhaps on staff.

But the real world dynamic of operational testing is now in the hands of active flying squadron Commanders and pilots and that is what is missed in a lot of reporting.

And for this you have to go to places like Edwards AFB, Nellis AFB and Yuma Marine Corps Air Station.

Being slightly superstitious I want to tread softly on a discussion about aviation safety.

Because to date the great underreported experience with the F-35 has been its’ safety record.

The F-35 initial safety record is world class noteworthy.

This is way out of the ordinary, historically, one just has to look at a very early B-17 testing crash or the very dramatic crash of the first prototype of the great F-14 Tomcat to see how much effort has gone into F-35 safety of flight by all concerned.

With 2,000 hours of F-4 flying time and another 1000+ in other jets mostly A-4 T/M/S and even a few hours in an S-2, and TA-7, and a couple of hundred hours flying the UH-I found the F-35 simulator is a piece of cake to fly stick and rudder wise, but easy to fly or not a chain of events can force an ejection.

I ejected from a fully operational two engine Navy Jet below 1000 feet when it caught fire on takeoff and exploded on a night mission.

I was a student pilot in the T-2B “Buckeye” a plane with thousands of hours of success flying missions, yet a navy mechanic over torqued a fuel line connection that separated under pressure and caused both engines to eventually catch fire. Ejecting out of a fireball was a hoot.

But surviving with my chute being snagged by a tree and winding up in a forest fire on the ground was not so enjoyable.

Consequently, I know a lot about aviation mishaps both personally and also as a graduate of the USN Aviation Safety Command Course, then taught at the Navy Post Graduate School, Monterey Ca.  I am certified to sign off on accidents and have done so.

I must stress enough caution if an F-35 crashes because, make no mistake, the fundamental rule is never rush to judgment until the accident board can establish the facts leading up to a crash.

In the event of a crash, for any reason, I am positive OSD test office will have a lot of documentation rightly or wrongly (you don’t know until you know) identifying the causes contributing to a crash. So it is possible that when the inevitable crash occurs those documents might be immediately and widely made known to reporters.

In the past days of DOD/Service fights over aircraft development this was called building a “Pearl Harbor File”—to say see “we told you so.”

Those files exist and since the only way to have a 100% safety record is not to fly– but fly we must.

It must be said and put on the record before a crash happens that the senior officers bringing the F-35 into their combat forces are doing it with vision and courage knowing that whatever happens they will perhaps, even savagely, be second guessed in print.

So please to all writers and F-35 critics symbolically standing on “Vultures Row”, a catwalk on a Carrier where one can watch arrested landings and perhaps see a specular crash, who immediately will write something when an F-35 crashes and have access to study after study from OSD testers saying “we told you so” please put the event in the context of “The Right Stuff.”

Tom Wolfe put it so well in one of the greatest aviation books ever written about military pilots. In a chapter on Chuck Yeager and others who were doing flight test at Edwards

Wolfe  describe pilots looking up when someone entered their bar- Pancho Barnes’s “Fly Inn” —when someone new walked in and had nothing to do with flying at Muroc “he would be eyed like some lame goddamn mouseshit sheepherder from Shane.”

Or to take a much higher road all should just remember the immortal words of President Reagan:

‘The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.’

Editor’s Note: Ironically, while Fallows was publishing his article on the F-35, the USAF was rolling out its first F-35A configured for the initial operational capability and working on re-shaping or renorming airpower for the decade ahead.

Second Line of Defense attended the ceremony for the arrival of the first F-35A to the USAF Weapons School on January 15, 2015.

There are already 4 F-35As here with the test wing, but this is the first full up IOC template F-35A, which will be put through its paces as part of the preparation for next year’s entry into service of the airplane into the USAF operational fleet.

In other words, this is the next phase of the introduction of the F-35A into service. 

The testing and training will continue but with an aircraft configured for the initial operational role of the aircraft within the USAF operational fleet.

And IOC for the F-35 has to be placed in the overall context of how the US services and allies are looking at the introduction of the F-35 into service.

The IOC of the F-35 is not simply about the introduction of a replacement aircraft but the next phase in the revolution of airpower and inextricably intertwined with doing air combat differently.

The photos in the slideshow above highlight various aspects of the day at Nellis, and are credited to Second Line of Defense except the first one which is credited to Nellis AFB.

• The first photo shows Capt. Brent Golden, 16th Weapons Squadron instructor, taxis an F-35A Lightning II at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 15, 2015. The F-35 Golden flew is the U.S. Air Force Weapons School’s first assigned F-35. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Siuta B. Ika).
• Photos 2-7 show the arrival of the F-35 and its taxing to arrive at its hanger.
• Photos 8-10 show the F-16s welcoming the F-35 to Nellis.
• Photo 11 shows the pilot exiting the F-35.
• Photos 12 and 13 show Major General Silveria prior to and after the arrival of the F-35.
• Photo 14 shows the Commander of the 57th Wing, Brigadier General Chris Short.
• The 15th photo shows the pilot, Captain Brent Golden.
• The final photo shows Staff Sargent Jason Anderson who is a dedicated crew chief on the F-35 with the 57th Wing.

For a PDF version of this article please download here:

A Challenge for Informed Public Debate

Thanks to The Aviationist website for bringing the F-35 Pro Bowl flyover:

http://theaviationist.com/2015/01/26/f-35-flyover-pro-bowl/

The flyover illustrates yet another opportunity to find some operators to interview.

In other words, here are four more USAF combat pilots “hiding in plain sight” any one of which could have easly  been asked to give an interview about preparing for eventual global airpower combat —anywhere anytime – for a much more Atlantic “fair play” article.

“Cougar”, “Jeb”, “Merc”, and “CATA” are the nicknames of the Joint Strike Fighter pilots of the 61 FS who performed the flyover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2015-01-24 We have published several articles over the years, which have highlighted the approach and challenges of 21^st century defense manufacturing, including several on the F-35 production approach.

Recently, Steve Trimble of Flight International has visited the final assembly line for the F-35 in Fort Worth ( and one should note that there is one as well in Italy with several aircraft in production) and will be one in Japan as well.

As Trimble put it in his article published on January 22, 2015:

Mass manufacturing and stealth aircraft have never mixed well. Hundreds of thousands of parts must align at tolerances measured to the thousandths of an inch. A structural misalignment no wider than a few human hairs is enough to make an aircraft shine like a lighthouse in the electromagnetic spectrum.

In the elite club of stealth aircraft manufacturers, Lockheed Martin set the output record six years ago by averaging two F-22 Raptor deliveries per month, then topped that four years later as the F-35 Lightning II production rate reached three per month.

If Lockheed’s order projections are realized, however, the F-35 must become the stealth fighter equivalent of the Ford Model T in less than four years.

That is when monthly output at Lockheed’s mile-long factory in Fort Worth, Texas, is supposed to reach a peak of 17 F-35s in 2019.

Lockheed has built non-stealthy fighters faster in the past – the same factory built 33 F-16s in October 1981 – but the four-year goal for monthly F-35 deliveries is nearly seven times higher than any stealth aircraft program has ever achieved.

Trimble focuses upon changes in the production approach over the past few years and the re-vamped approach going forward.

A key element of understanding the way ahead is his interview with Don Kinard, who has been a key player at Lockheed in shaping the production system for the F-35.

Trimble highlights changes in the approach by quoting Kinard as follows:

Lockheed’s internal position has changed within the last three years, says Don Kinard, a Lockheed senior technical fellow charged with developing the F-35 “fighter production system”.

“We studied [a continuously moving line] for years,” Kinard said in a recent interview. “We did a lot of analysis and we figured that 95% of the benefit of a moving line could be captured with a pulse line. The moving line brought additional complexity to it, and the complexity and the cost of going from a pulsed line to a moving line was determined to be not worth the advantage.”

The F-35’s last stages of assembly will still be very different to those on the F-16 line, for example. Lockheed parks the F-16 after fuselage and wing mating in an assembly bay, where it does not move until the aircraft is ready to enter the paint hangar.

By contrast, Lockheed adopted a “pulsed” line for the F-35, with a flow-to-takt-time assembly model. In such a model, components flow through assembly positions all the way through the supply chain at intervals aligned with the monthly delivery rate.

The key sections of the F-35, which are produced elsewhere and mated at the FAL, are joined via an electronic mating and alignment system (EMAS).

According to Trimble:

Lockheed’s electronic mating and alignment system (EMAS) was developed to solve that problem. The EMAS replaces the large tooling towers that would have been required to mate each variant. Instead, a platform is erected, and all four major sections are lifted by crane into an F-35-shaped space in the middle to be mated.

Each of the sections are digitally mapped and mated synthetically in the EMAS software. This simulation of the mating process is used to predict the number and thickness of the required shims and filler. Too much or too little can cause a stealth-degrading misalignment.

The four sections are initially joined together and inspected to make sure the thickness of the shims is accurate. Then, the EMAS pulls the three mate joints apart so workers can make corrections. The sections are then rejoined to validate the corrections. Finally, the EMAS pulls the sections apart one last time so workers can apply sealants and protective coatings on the interior of the structures.

The labor-intensive process represents the majority of the F-35 mating work, but the EMAS makes it possible to mate all three variants using a common platform, rather than individual tooling towers.

For the complete article, please go to the following link:

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-f-35-production-system-evolves-ahead-of-ramp-up-408008

And also of interest is the companion piece by Dan Parsons of Flight International who addresses the challenges associated with ramp up of production.

To support a rate of 17 jets per month, the facility will need at least 15 EMAS and five soft mate stations, Kinard says. Whereas the Fort Worth production line currently has 10 final assembly stations – where control surfaces and systems are joined to the fuselage – it will need at least 25 at full rate, he adds.

Lockheed has produced around 120 aircraft for the USA and various international partners since deliveries began in 2011. LRIP 8 will bring the number of aircraft on contract to 216. For comparison, the US Air Force has a total 187 Lockheed F-22 Raptors.

“A lot of people don’t realize how mature this program is,” says Mike Rein, Lockheed’s chief F-35 spokesman. “We’re two-thirds of the way to full-rate production.”

The next 12 months are packed with program milestones. Both Lockheed and the US government’s Joint Program Office (JPO) are eyeing one date with tunnel vision: the US Marine Corps’ 1 July initial operational capability (IOC) milestone. The air force should follow in 2016, and the navy plans to bring up the tail in 2018.

“Over the next couple of years, what we’re trying to do is get all three services to IOC, because if you get all three services to IOC, then a lot of other things are automatically done,” Rein says. “You’ve completed your test program. You have produced the airplanes you need to produce. The international folks are getting their airplanes because our IOCs lead to their IOCs.”

For the complete article, please go to the following link:

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-hurdles-ahead-as-lockheed-works-to-meet-full-rate-f-35-407970/

Editor’s Note: The video shows the basic F-35 final assembly approach at Fort Worth. It is credited to Lockheed Martin and was published on August 30, 2012.