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One feature that makes Lockheed Martin's F-35B different than other fighter jets is its ability to land on an aircraft carrier without requiring a hook to prevent it from sailing right off the end into the ocean. The F-35B recently completed its first vertical landing at night on the USS Wasp. When visualized through a night vision lens, the F-35B looked just like what you might expect of a Hollywood-stylized UFO.

The American F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft has its origins in a secret collaboration between Russia’s Yakovlev and Lockheed Martin of the United States. The American F-35B – the naval version of the Joint Services Fighter – was not designed in Fort Worth, Texas, but in Moscow, Russia. The ‘unique’ lift fan and vectoring tailpipe that allows the F-35B stealth fighter to perform vertical takeoffs and landings (VTOL) was designed nearly three decades ago by Russia’s Yakovlev aircraft bureau for their supersonic multi-services fighter, the Yak-141. The Yak-141 was a successful development of the older Yak-38 jump jet....

The Gripen Proposition for the Dutch Air Force (Source: Saab’s Gripen blog; posted Feb. 3, 2013) 2013 will be an exciting year for the Dutch Air Force and for Dutch politics. The reason: there is a decision to be taken on the new fighter to replace the outdated F-16s, says a report in Een Vandaag. In a report that looks at the various options that are on offer, Kimo Demoed of Een Vandaag says that while the U.S. F-35 was the dream candidate for the Dutch Air Force for years, the JSF project is anything but smooth: "The costs are...

It's considered to be the world's most sophisticated superfighter jet, but Britain's new £150million combat aircraft has been banned from flying in bad weather for fears it could explode. Engineers working on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have found the jet's fuel tank could explode if hit by lightning. According to reports, the aircraft, which is hoped to enter service for both the RAF and the Royal Navy in five years' time, has also been made more vulnerable to enemy attack than the aircraft it is set to replace, after its weight was reduced in an attempt to increase fuel...

The F-35 Lightning II is making good progress through flight testing this year, a top Lockheed Martin official says. Most of the biggest challenges faced by the programme should be well on their way to being fixed by the later part of the year. One major issue that has recently popped up on the US Navy's F-35C variant is that the aircraft's tail-hook has had to be redesigned. That is because the existing design has failed to catch an arresting cable during trials. Lockheed is working on a new improved hook design that should fix the problem. "We have modified...

LONDON (AP) — Britain's defense secretary is ditching proposals to buy a particular type of F-35 Joint StrikeFighter — reverting to an original plan previously criticized by Prime Minister David Cameron. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond told lawmakers Thursday that Britain would no longer purchase F-35c variants of the Lockheed Martin Corp. fighter jet because the cost of modifications to ships needed to accommodate the plane would be about 2 billion pounds ($3.2 billion). The jet's design — which does not include vertical take-off and landing — means aircraft carriers would need to be fitted with catapults and arrester gears. Hammond...

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be the new multirole fast jet for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. It will serve as the strike capability for the new Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier and will partner the Typhoon to form the future fast jet fleet for the RAF. It is a multinational acquisition programme led by the United States in partnership with eight other nations, including the UK. There are three variants of the F-35: F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) F-35B Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing (STOVL) F-35C Carrier Variant (CV) The UK selected the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in...

Lockheed Martin scrambled today to explain the latest increases in the Joint Strike Fighter's costs, arguing that the three versions of the aircraft "will be comparable to or lower than that of the seven" older airplanes it will replace. Overall, the F-35 will cost an appreciably impressive $1.5 trillion over the 55 years it is expected to be flying, up from an estimated $1 trillion. The latest numbers were released this afternoon as part of the Pentagon's authoritative Selected Acquisition Report. The overall value of the program comes from a Lockheed Martin statement. For perspective on just how much money...

Australian composites manufacturer Quickstep has completed the first production parts it is making for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, with the firm hoping to secure additional work on the programme. The parts have been presented to Northrop Grumman - a major partner in the F-35 programme - for acceptance. They were covered in a July 2011 purchase order from the US company. "The parts, assembled access panels for the F-35 aircraft, represent the first "flying" Group 1 parts manufactured by Quickstep for the [F-35] programme," says Quickstep in a statement. "Quickstep initially expects to manufacture approximately one completed part...

The first night refueling in the history of the Lockheed Martin F-35 program was completed Thursday at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Piloted by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Vitt, AF-4, an F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant, rendezvoused with an Air Force KC-135 tanker and successfully received fuel through the F-35’s boom receptacle. Vitt’s sortie lasted more than three hours. In addition to qualifying with the KC-135, the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards AFB will also conduct night refueling tests with the KC-10.

Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith has decided to delay an order for more JSF F-35 fighters. The Royal Australian Air Force is scheduled to receive a second batch of 58 Joint Strike Fighters, and Smith's decision to delay the order is being criticized, as it may increase their final cost. Both Ministry of Defense and industry critics say the decision could create the air warfare capability gap the government says it is trying to avoid, The Canberra Times reported Thursday. Last month Smith told Parliament he worried that ''a delay in the production of the Joint Strike Fighter and the...

The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program -- the centerpiece of future tactical aviation and a key to implementing new military strategic guidance -- made strong progress in its development last year, a defense official said today. Frank Kendall, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told the House Armed Services Committee that the fighter aircraft is essential to the Defense Department, and that it made "strong progress" in 2011. "Last fall, the department engaged in a strategy and budget review, where everything -- and I do mean everything -- was on the table," Kendall said. "After...

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Joseph Bachmann successfully piloted the second F-35 local orientation flight in the skies above the Emerald Coast today. AF-13, an F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant, launched at 2:30 p.m. CDT and completed a 93-minute flight landing at 4:03 p.m. CDT. At its operational peak, the F-35 Integrated Training Center at Eglin Air Force Base will train approximately 100 F-35 pilots and 2,200 maintainers annually. The wing's two F-35 pilots, in conjunction with its integrated team of military members, civilians and contractors, will begin to slowly build up their number of sorties with an initial goal...

The Australian Parliament’s Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade has just released a transcript of a Feb. 7, 2012 hearing during which it took evidence on the F-35 program by noted opponents of the program, representing the Air Power Australia think-tank and a private computer simulation firm, RepSim Pty Ltd. Part of the hearing describes the outcome of a famous – but disputed – simulation of F-18E and F-35 fighters engaging in combat against Chinese air force fighters carried out by the Rand Corporation. The outcome is even more disastrous for the Western fighters than previously reported. http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/verbatim/4/133273/f_35-fares-worse-in-rand-wargame.html

Two years of unwavering Conservative support for the F-35 took a major hit Tuesday as Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino said the government has not ruled out walking away from the troubled stealth fighter program. Fantino also revealed a team of defence department officials have been considering “all kinds of contingencies” should the F-35 not be ready to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18s and acknowledged the government does not know how much each F-35 will cost. The revelations led opposition parties to question why the sudden about-face after the Conservatives fought an election, in part, on purchasing the F-35...

A possible UK decision to reverse a variant switch on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would not cause a problem for Lockheed Martin, according to one of the company's senior programme officials. Speculation has mounted over recent weeks that the UK government could backtrack on its decision to shift its interest in the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B to the C-model carrier variant. The move was included as part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review of late 2010, but has prompted concerns over the costs involved with modifying the Royal Navy's future Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers with...

Maintainers with the 33rd Fighter Wing have determined that three loose fasteners caused the small fuel leak during the F-35’s first mission flight Tuesday. The wing’s first F-35A Joint Strike Fighter took off at 10:07 a.m. for what was supposed to be a 90-minute flight. The sortie was cut short to roughly 20 minutes when the pilot of an F-16 acting as a chase plane spotted what appeared to a small fuel leak on the F-35. Maintainers with the 33rd Fighter Wing conducted an extensive review of the jet and determined three slightly loose fasteners allowed a small amount of...

The program executive officer for the problem-plagued F-35 said Thursday he has "great confidence" the multi-service fighter can deliver the oft-promised stealth and the sophisticated package of sensors. Vice Adm. David Venlet said he has "measured data" to show that. In a late afternoon address to an audience of defense and financial industry representatives, Venlet said all the current problems with the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft that have been highlighted in the media and congressional hearings "are in the normal range of fighter aircraft development." The problems Venlet cited included the sophisticated helmet that should allow the pilot to see on...

Norway's defence secretary Roger Ingebrigtsen and an entourage of military officials visited the F-35 test force at Edwards AFB, California, during the last week of February. The visit to the desert base comes at a time when Norway is trying to finalise how many aircraft it will ultimately buy. "Right now we're in the process where the Norwegian government is about to make a recommendation to their parliament as far as how many F-35s we want to buy and where we should base these aircraft," says Major Eystein Kvarving, a spokesman for the Norwegian Defence Ministry on 29 February in...

Chances are high for the government to pick the F-35 fighter jet as the mainstay of the Air Force later this year, but it is doubtful whether the new aircraft can be delivered to Korea as promised from 2016. Seoul is expected to announce the winner of the bidding for its next-generation fighter acquisition project in October this year in line with its plan to introduce 10 advanced jets in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and the remaining 40 by 2020. “Lockheed Martin officials recently informed us that the F-35 development and testing is progressing faster than anticipated and that they...