Critic sobering display of the F-35 Lightening II Joint Strike Fighter

June 20th, 5:42am June 21st, 11:03pm

Terry TurnerTerry Turner is Senior Editor for Defence.com.au and Editor in Chief for the entire stable of CYBER PRESS magazines. CYBER PRESS is an Australian media business specialising in multi-channel broad audience online digital publishing. Our company is the evolution of Eco Magazines, Australia's premiere dedicated online publisher of full-format digital magazines. Put simply, we specialise, where many merely dabble.

Defence Industry

Lockheed Martin senior experimental test pilot Billie Flynn has just demonstrated the F-35A Lightning II in a critic sobering performance at the Paris Airshow.

This is the Paris debut of the F-35A model, which is the same variant Australia has purchased. Last year, the STOVL-capable F-35B variant made its international airshow debut at the Farnborough Air Show. However this F-35A display shows an greatly expanded envelope of the aircraft’s capabilities over the last display.

Earlier, in the Paris Air Show Conference Centre, F-35 pilot’s Lt. Col Scott “Cap” Gunn, USAF, 33rd Fighter Wing, along with Alan Norman, F-35 Chief Test Pilot, presented details of the F-35A’s aerial demonstration and how its maneuvers directly relat to operational flying.

USAF Col. (Brig. Gen; Select) Todd Canterbury, Director, USAF F-35 Integration Office hosted a program briefing discussing USAF F-35A operations and recent accomplishments, while an update was provided on the F-35’s program status and progress by Jeff Babione, Executive Vice President and General Manager F-35.

Lockheed Martin has been approached by the Joint Program Office (JPO) to draw up a block buy that would include the planned low-rate initial production (LRIP) lots 12 to 14 to deliver substantial savings, said Babione.

Those many critics need to think back to thetime when their predesessors were bagging the F-111, it was also plagued with ‘initial’ teethign issues, but went on to become one of the worlds benchmark strike platforms.

When F-35 pilot’s Lt. Col Scott “Cap” Gunn commenced flying the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter only five years ago, the aircraft’s flight envelope was restricted, heavily, as it was a developing platform with only 3Gs permitted at the time. But even back then, flying against an F-15C was an ‘even match’, he said.

Fast forward to three months ago, when Gunn flew against an F-16 Fighting Falcon within visual range, and the F-35’s performance had improved so much that the F-16 pilot believed the F-35 had undergone special modifications.

They’re the leaps and bounds being experienced by pilots, F-35 pilots who actually know and fly the platform. Today we all get an unclassified glimpse of the F-35 Lightening II Joint Strike Fighter.

Best of luck with the program, and its ongoing development Lockheed Martin.