F-35 Cancelled, then what ?

[PhilipG]

Barriers and SSL

Engines et al,

As far as I am aware when the F35B goes to sea on a QEC class carrier, it will be the first time ever that in normal operations that an aircraft has been embarked that will normally be expected to do SSLs.

We are all aware that the weight limits for the F35B are tight and that the undercarriage is not as robust as on F35Cs, what some of us are reasonably concerned about is will the F35B be able to SSL on a QEC, as well as take off on the ski jump with a defined weapons and fuel load.

As far as I am aware there is no evidence that an F35B has been shown to land on the area of a QEC deck doing an SSL, loaded or unloaded. The serious maths might have been done about how the F35B will perform off a ski jump but it has as far as I am aware yet to be demonstrated by a test or development aircraft.

By demonstrated here I mean two things, that the airframe, cracks and all, can withstand the loadings of going through these evolutions and that the software solution does not get itself into an inappropriate state when these evolutions are attempted.

The Barriers bit was unless many of us have read the SSL procedure incorrectly, that we understand that the F35B approaches the rear of the carrier with both forward motion lift and vertical lift, when the F35 is over the deck of the carrier and the wheels have touched down, yes with on PoW with help from the Bedford Array, stopping power comes from the brakes, the engines go to idle I am assuming.

If there is a tyre blow out, brake failure, landing gear failure or some other unplanned occurrence, it would seem that the F35B would have the propensity to slide along the deck of the carrier and project itself into the sea, I do not think that it would be reasonable to rely on the ability of the engine to spool up to give enough power to do a vertical take off, having discarded any and all external stores, to give the damaged plane the opportunity to take off again.

It just seemed sensible risk mitigating and indeed not rocket science that a proven method of stopping planes crashing on axial deck RN and USN aircraft carriers was investigated again.

I am sure that being taken by the barrier will cause structural damage to the F35B, let us hope that the damage is not as serious as kerbing a 1966 Mk1 Lotus Europa was, it meant writing it off, the body work was initially bonded to the chassis, saving a rather expensive aircraft and its pilot, would seem a good idea. I am sure that even the MoD would countenance the purchase of kits of spares to repair on-board F35Bs that have simply taken the barrier, far cheaper one hopes than buying a replacement.

Of course I am not suggesting in any way that the F35B is as fragile as a Seafire was at the beginning of its time as a fleet defence fighter, it would be interesting to know how many spitfire props the BPF, Task Force 57 et al got through, that is not for this thread.

I am sure that you can give us all comfort that all these risks have been theoretically mitigated, it would just be nice to know in the real world that these leading edge evolutions can be safely undertaken by normal FAA and RAF pilots, as they will be required to do with possibly not much sea training in a surge.

Philip