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Hello everybody. I’d like to re-introduce and suggest the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II as a future addition to the US Aviation tech tree. It is an American single-seat, single-engine, stealth multirole combat aircraft designed for air superiority and strike operations. This variant is carrier-based with tailhook for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps and has the largest wings with foldable wingtip sections.
Key Characteristics
- Stealth Fighter / Multirole Fighter / Naval Aircraft
- Carrier-based & Catapult-Assisted Take-off, Barrier Arrested Recovery variant
- Highly integrated digital avionics, including AN/APG-81 AESA radar
- Weapons bays to carry four AIM-120D AMRAAMs
- A P&W F135-PW-400 afterburning turbofan with more than 40,000 lb force thrust
History
DevelopmentThe development of the F-35 originated from the Joint Strike Fighter program in 1993-1994 to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. An aircraft would be developed and equipped with advanced weapons and sensor technology, so the new aircraft in massive numbers would replace F-16s, F/A-18s, AV-8s, and other 1980s aircraft technology. McDonnell Douglas, Northrop, Lockheed, and Boeing submitted their proposals to the Department of Defense to enter the competition. Lockheed Martin and Boeing were selected to be rewarded with a contract to develop their prototypes on November 16, 1996. Each competitor would have to produce two aircraft: one would demonstrate conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) and carrier takeoff and landing (CV), and the other one would demonstrate short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL).
Lockheed Martin developed its X-35A (later converted to X-35B) and X-35C, while Boeing developed its X-32A and X-32B, all powered by Pratt & Whitney F119. The X-32A first made its first flight on September 18, 2000, for CTOL and CV trials, and the X-35A first flew on October 24, 2000, to conduct 28 flight tests for flying qualities and performance. The X-35A was converted into the X-35B for STOVL testing. The X-35B would successfully demonstrate STOVL in a test flight by taking off in less than 500 feet, going supersonic, and landing vertically. This test flight would put Lockheed Martin ahead of Boeing.
On October 26, 2001, Lockheed Martin won the production contract, and Pratt & Whitney secured a development contract for the new F135 engine for the F-35 series.
Production DesignThe JSF program now evolved into the System Development and Demonstration phase, intending to produce F-35 combat aircraft. Lockheed Martin made differences on the production F-35 distant from the prototype X-35. The production F-35 has a lengthened forward fuselage by 5 inches more, moved horizontal stabilizers by 2 inches rearward, changed diverterless supersonic inlet from a four-sided to a three-sided cowl shape and moved 30 inches rearward, and raised top surface of fuselage section by 1 inch more to accommodate weapons bays. From this point, the designs of production F-35s were diverged for F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C. All of them are designed with a service life of 8,000 hours. Lockheed Martin is responsible for the overall systems integration and final assembly and checkout, while Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems supply components of mission systems and airframes.
The F-35C is designed to have a larger wingspan to accommodate more fuel volume for fuel efficiency. Its larger wings also feature foldable wingtip sections and larger control surfaces for improved low-speed control. The nose gear is configured to be a twin wheel, and the landing gears are built to be stronger for the stresses of carrier arrested landing along with the tail hook. It is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-400 low-bypass augmented turbofan; it is the same as the F135-PW-100 used in the F-35A. The main difference is that the F135-PW-400 uses salt-corrosion-resistant materials for carrier operations in open seas. The power plant is rated 28,000 lb force thrust at military power and 43,000 lb force thrust with an afterburner, allowing the F-35 to have a top speed of Mach 1.6 with the full internal payload. Although, it does not enable supercruise for the F-35 platform. The F-35’s engine section was built and covered with radar-absorbent materials to conceal the turbine and contribute stealth. The engine consists of a low-observable axisymmetric nozzle with 15 overlapping flaps that provide a sawtooth pattern to reduce the radar signature and infrared signature of the exhaust plume. The power and thermal management, environment control, auxiliary power unit, and engine functions were all integrated into a single system. The F-35’s sound power is comparable to the F-16C and F/A-18E, though the low-frequency noise was pretty noticeable from the F-35.
The F-35 has two internal weapons bays, each with two weapons stations capable of mounting AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and Joint Direct Attack Munitions. The F-35 also has four external outboard weapon stations, and each carries a payload of up to 2,500 pounds and mounts a JDAM, Paveway, or Joint Standoff Weapon. In addition, the F-35 has wingtip pylons, which can only mount an AIM-9X Sidewinder. A stealth air-to-air weapon configuration would consist of four AIM-120 missiles in the weapons bay and two AIM-9X missiles on the wingtip pylons, while the possible non-stealth air-to-air weapons configuration could consist of eight AIM-120s and two AIM-9Xs. Behind the weapons bays, there are two compartments containing flares, chaff, and towed decoys. The F-35C has no internal gun but can use the GAU-22/A in a Terma A/S multi-mission pod, and it is mounted on the centerline of the aircraft and shaped to reduce its radar cross-section.
The surface of the F-35’s fuselage and wings are covered with radar-absorbent materials and intentionally shaped to continuously curvatures to reduce radar cross-section. In addition, the F-35’s diverterless supersonic inlet uses a compression bump and forward-swept cowl, further reducing the radar signature. It is reported that the F-35’s radar signature was measured to less than a metal gift ball depending on frequencies and angles. The latest stealth technology on the F-35 is comparably better than the F-22 because the F-22 is the first fighter to possess stealth technology, and the F-35’s stealth design benefited from the lessons learned from the F-22. The low-frequency radars can detect the F-35 due to Rayleigh scattering; however, these radars are susceptible to clutter and lack precision.
The F-35 has a glass cockpit designed to increase the pilot’s situational awareness. It has a large and wide touchscreen as the main display that shows flight instruments, store management, CNI information, and caution and warning information for the pilot. It does not have a head-up display; instead, the flight and combat information is fed into the visor of the pilot’s helmet in a helmet-mounted display system, allowing the pilot to see it no matter which way they are facing. The infrared and night vision imagery from the Distributed Aperture System can be displayed directly on the HMDS for the pilot. The HDMS provides a high-angle off-boresight capability to fire missiles at targets.
The F-35’s mission systems are the most complex, sophisticated, and expensive of all parts. Digital avionics and sensor fusion, combining sensor data from multiple sensor sources to obtain more accurate location estimates of targets, are installed to facilitate network-centric warfare and improve the pilot’s situational awareness. The key sensors include the AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, AN/ASQ-239 Barracuda electronic warfare system, AN/AAQ-37 Electro-optical Distributed Aperture System, AN/AAQ-40 Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) and AN/ASQ-242 Communications, Navigation, and Identification system, capable of sharing communication data to other friendlies without compromising the stealth. These sensors are designed and installed to work together to provide a clear image of situations on the battlefield.
The APG-81 AESA radar uses electronic scanning for rapid beam agility and incorporates passive and active air-to-air and strike modes. It has synthetic aperture radar capability of tracking and scanning multiple targets at a range of about 90 miles. The antenna has to be titled backward for stealth. It is complemented by the AAQ-37 Electro-optical Distributed Aperture System, which consists of six infrared sensors. It provides all-aspect missile launch warning, target tracking, and spherical infrared and night-vision imagery on the helmet visor. Behind the radar radome, the AAQ-40 EOTS is mounted under the nose and performs laser target, forward-looking infrared, and long-range IRST functions.
The ASQ-239 Barracuda electronic warfare system has ten radio frequency antennas embedded into the edges of the wing and tail for an all-aspect radar warning receiver. It provides sensor fusion of radio frequency and infrared tracking functions, geolocation threat targeting, and multispectral image countermeasures for self-defense against missiles. They assist in estimating the approximate location of targets. It is reported that this electronic warfare system could detect and jam hostile radars.
All of these features on the F-35 are designed to require less intensive maintenance than prior stealth aircraft, such as the F-22.
United States Navy ServiceThe first F-35C was built and flew on June 6, 2010. It was subjected to flight sciences testing and carrier operations suitability testing to measure flight performance, flight loads, store separation, and mission systems. Consequently, the flight tests have revealed several issues in the F-35B and F-35C that required expensive redesigns and resulted in several fleet-wide groundings, delaying further production of the new F-35s. For example, the F-35C’s arrestor hook design was unreliable after failing to catch the arresting wire in all eight landing tests, and fuel tanks were too vulnerable to lightning strikes. Lockheed Martin would spend years addressing these identified defects with cost overruns, and the new redesigned arrestor hook was finally delivered two years later.
Once the new arrestor hook was delivered to the F-35Cs, the carrier-based Development Test I began in November 2014, boarding the USS Nimitz. The F-35C would perform basic daytime carrier operations and conduct launch and recovery handling procedures. The F-35Cs underwent Development Test II to conduct nighttime carrier operations and weapons loading in October 2015, and they underwent the final Development Test III to test asymmetric loads and certify systems for landing qualifications and interoperability in August 2016. The F-35Cs finally conducted their successful operational test in 2018, opening the path for its proper introduction to the US Navy in 2019.
The USN initially had the F-35Cs stationed in Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in 2012 with VFA-101 and alongside the USAF F-35As and USMC F-35Bs, but the operations would eventually be transferred to VFA-125 at Navy Air Station Lemoore in 2019, where the USN would achieve the operational status with the F-35C in Block 3F configuration on February 28, 2019. At that time, the USN possessed the F-35C as the first stealth-capable aircraft to operate from a carrier deck. It plans to phase out the F/A-18C/Ds. The United States Marine Corps VMFA-314 was the first operational USMC F-35C squadron to achieve Full Operational Capability in July 2021. They were deployed to the USS Abraham Lincoln, and the VFA-147 was the first operational USN F-35C squadron to deploy to the USS Carl Vinson. The F-35Cs have yet to see their first combat action as of now.
The Block 4 configuration would be the first major upgrade program for the F-35C, which began in development in 2019. It includes a new integration of additional weapons, AN/APG-85 AESA radar, new avionics hardware, and an improved F135 engine. Block 4 is expected to enter service in the late 2020s to early 2030s, though there were difficulties with new hardware that have caused delays to Block 4 aircraft deliveries from 2023 to 2024. In this Block, the F-35C equips a new weapon rack to carry two more AIM-120s in the weapons bays, increasing the internal air-to-air configuration to six missiles.
More than 60 F-35Cs have been delivered to the USN, and around 200 F-35Cs are planned for production and delivery to this day. The F-35Cs are never exported and delivered to foreign operators.
Specifications
Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning IIGeneral Characteristics
- Crew: 1 (Pilot)
- Length: 51.5 ft (15.7 m)
- Height: 14.7 ft (4.48 m)
- Wingspan: 43 ft (13.1 m)
- Horizontal Tail Span: 26.3 ft (8.02 m)
- Wing Area: 668 sq ft (62.1 sq m)
- Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-400 afterburning turbofan jet engine
→ 40,000 lbf (178 kN) thrust A/B
→ 25,000 lbf (111 kN) thrust dry- Internal Fuel: 19,750 lb (8,960 kg)
- Empty Weight: 34,800 lb (15,785 kg)
- Max. Takeoff Weight: 70,000 lb (31,751 kg)
- Weapons Payload: 18,000 lb (8,165 kg)
Performance
- Thrust-to-Weight Ratio: 0.75 @ gross weight; 0.91 w/ loaded weight and 50% internal fuel
- Critical Altitude Speed: Mach 1.6 (1,200 mph; 1,931 km/h) w/ full internal weapons load
- Wing Loading: 84.7 lb/sq ft (413.5 kg/sq m)
- Service Ceiling: above 50,000 ft (15,240 m)
- Combat Range: 690 miles (1,110 km) w/ full internal fuel
- Max. Range: 1,380 miles (2,220 km) w/ full internal fuel
Weapons System
- Avionics:
- AN/APG-85 AESA Radar
- AN/AAQ-40 Electro-Optical Targeting System
- AN/AAQ-37 Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System
- AN/ASQ-239 Barracuda electronic warfare/electronic countermeasures system
- Integrated AN/ASQ-242 Communication, Navigation, Identification system
- Hardpoints:
- 4 internal; 6 external
- Air-to-Air:
- 25mm GAU-22 Missionized Gun Pod (220 rounds)
- 2 x AIM-9X Sidewinders
- 4 x AIM-120C/D AARAAMs
- Air-to-Ground:
- 2 x 2,000 lb GBU-31 JDAMs
- 2 x 1,000 lb GBU-32 JDAMs
- 8 x 250 lb GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs
- 8 x 250 lb GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bombs II
- 6 x 500 lb GBU-12 Paveway II Laser-Guided Bombs
- 2 x 1,000 lb AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons
- Other:
- Countermeasures (chaff and flares) dispensers
Cockpit
Conclusion | Why it should be in the game
The F-35C as an incoming fifth-generation aircraft addition is inevitable once almost all fourth-generation aircraft have been added to the game. The F-35C is a new supersonic, stealth, multirole naval aircraft to provide us a replacement for the dated F/A-18C/D Hornets, as it would be a potential endgame top-tier asset in its naval aircraft line for the US aviation tech tree until the development and production of the sixth-generation naval fighter makes an appearance. Although the F-35C lacks the kinematic performance of the F-22, the F-35 could be competitive with fourth-generation fighters such as the F-16C Fighting Falcons and F/A-18C/D Hornets and F/A-18/E/F Super Hornets because the F-35C can employ its stealth, drag-free internal weapons bay, and larger internal fuel but only limited to 7-g maneuvers and have to use external gun pod for gunfights.
See Also - F-35 Family
- F-35 Lightning II Archives | Air & Space Forces Magazine
- Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II - program supplier guide | Airframer
- About the F-35
- Everything You Need to Know about the F-35C
- https://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/dam/lockheed-martin/aero/documents/F-35/f35-brochure.pdf
- First Marine F-35C Squadron Attains Next Aviation Milestone > United States Marine Corps Flagship > News Display
- F-35C: The U.S. Navy Has the Only Stealth Fighter Serving on an Aircraft Carrier | The National Interest
- AN/APG-81 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) | Northrop Grumman
- F-35 Lightning II | Northrop Grumman
- F-35 Closer To Carrying Six AIM-120 Missiles Internally
- https://www.prattwhitney.com/en/products/military-engines/f135
- Introducing the Terma F-35 Multi-Mission Pod
- AN/APG-81 - Wikipedia
- Pratt & Whitney F135 - Wikipedia
- Joint Strike Fighter program - Wikipedia
- Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II - Wikipedia
Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestion! 😃
