U.S. Navy F-35C to start first series of aircraft carrier tests at sea this coming week

: Posted On Sunday, 02 November 2014 23:05

Naval Forces News - USA

U.S. Navy F-35C to start first series of aircraft carrier tests at sea this coming week

Two U.S. Navy F-35C stealth fighters are set to contuct the first aircraft carrier tests over the next two weeks on board USS Nimitz (CVN-68). Test aircraft CF-3 and CF-5 will be used for the test that will reflect typical carrier operations: Touch and go, arrested landings and catapult launches. Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the Joint Strike Fighter program executive officer said the two F-35Cs are flying directly to the carrier and will land using arresting gear. “We’re not putting them on the ship with a crane.”

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md.(May 7, 2014) An F-35C Lightning II aircraft makes an arrested landing during a test flight at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The F-35C is the carrier variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin by Dane Wiedmann/Released)

The F-35C carrier variant (CV) is the U.S. Navy’s first stealth fighter and the world’s only 5th Generation, long-range stealth strike fighter designed and built explicitly for carrier operations.

The F-35C variant has larger wings and more robust landing gear than the other variants, making it suitable for catapult launches and fly-in arrestments aboard naval aircraft carriers. Its wingtips also fold to allow for more room on the carrier’s deck while deployed.

During testing in 2011, all eight landing tests of the F-35C failed to catch the arresting wire; a redesigned tail hook was developed and delivered two years later in response. In February 2014, Lockheed said the F-35C was on schedule for sea trials after the tailhook was redesigned. The new tailhook has a different shape to better catch arresting wires. Testing on land achieved 36 successful landings.