The Navy’s F-35C aircraft carrier variant performed two successful traps Nov. 3 in its first at-sea tests on a carrier, according to the Defense Department’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO).
F-35 Program Executive Officer (PEO) Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said Oct. 30 these F-35Cs were two airplanes with the “full envelope,” something he said earlier this summer was thought as “not even possible” due to issues with the arresting hook and the nose gear.
The Marine Corps’ F-35B. Photo: Lockheed Martin.The Marine Corps’ F-35B. Photo: Lockheed Martin.
“The fact the test team and Lockheed Martin and their suppliers were able to get the ground testing done so we could send two airplanes to the ship with full envelope of testing is a pretty good thing,” Bogdan said last week.
CF-3 and CF-5 flew Oct. 30 from Fort Worth, Texas, to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., Bogdan said last week. The aircraft then flew Nov. 3 from Yuma to the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), Bogdan said, which is located off the coast of southern California. The first time the aircraft would touch the Nimitz, Bogdan said, would be with a trap.
Bogdan said Oct. 30 he wouldn’t be on site for the carrier landing, but would be in Israel talking with the Israelis about their forthcoming F-35 purchase. The F-35C is the carrier variant of the F-35, which is developed by Lockheed Martin [LMT] with subcontractors BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman [NOC].