The Navy has completed the first round of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flight demonstration testing on an aircraft carrier and is confident it has resolved an earlier problem with the jet’s tailhook design.
The testing aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) began this month in waters off San Diego and was completed on Friday ahead of schedule, according to the Navy. It culminated with nighttime launch and recovery demonstrations with the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, or F-35C.
The Pentagon and Navy have spent the last year land testing a redesign to the tailhook after experiencing problems with the previous one failing to grab the catch wire during landings. The Nimitz testing “firmly established the success of the redesign,” the Navy said.
Teams from Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md., were able to test the suitability of the stealth fighter in carrier operations and integration into the flight deck, as well as complete 100 percent of the test points, the Navy said. The test pilots logged a combined 39 flights hours that involved 33 flight tests with 124 catapult launches, 222 touch-and-go landings and 124 arresting gear landings. There were no misses in tailhook landings.
“The aircraft demonstrated exceptional performance throughout its initial sea trails, accelerating the team’s progress through the (testing) schedule and enabling them to conduct night operations–a milestone typically achieved during the second at-sea phase of developmental tests,” the Navy said, noting the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornets did not engage in nighttime operations until the second round of testing.
“That says a lot for the airplane,” test pilot Lt. Cmdr. Ted Dyckman said. “So, when it came time for night traps, we said the plane is ready and we launched it. It flew very well behind the ship. Even on the darkest night–pretty much as dark as you can get behind the boat. Two hook-down passes and two traps and that says it all right there.”
The Navy expects the first group of F-35Cs to reach the fleet in 2018.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] is the prime contractor for the F-35. The defense giant worked closely with a Dutch firm, Fokker Technologies, to redesign the tailhook.
The testing brings some good news for the Joint Strike Fighter program, which has been plagued by heavy cost overruns and delays. The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps are projected to spend nearly $400 billion to procure more than 2,440 F-35s–almost double original price estimates.
The F-35 program has come under stringent criticism, including on Capitol Hill, for the cost overruns and delays and questions about its effectiveness in future combat.