The F-35 / MV-22 refueling pic is a fanboy fake.
Wire data. Although the Navy readily admits it supplied inaccurate wire data, the redesign of the arrestor hook system was more involved than simply sharpening the hook point and adjusting the hold down damper. There were significant structural changes to the aircraft that added over 100lbs to an aircraft that is already close to margins - which was contrary to what LM officials were saying at the time. That said, it is not uncommon for adjustments to be made to the AHS to aircraft in development, and since LM has not designed a carrier aircraft since the 1960's, no doubt that expertise in the company had atrophied. But just looking at the geometries of the F-35, it is hard to understand why nobody predicted that there *might* be a problem. Tom Burbage, a somewhat recently retired LM F-35 executive, has essentially admitted that F-35 engineering could have been more rigorous, which I take to mean that the program turned out to be much more complex, and required far more resources than LM had expected and allocated.
Last edited by Maus92; 27th Apr 2014 at 12:10.