RAF

UK And US Military Test Lightning II Jets At Sea

The F-35B Joint Strike Fighter is now just weeks away from being declared operational, with the US Marine Corps and RAF currently conducting final sea trials before the Lightning II goes into service.

Britain is hoping to buy a fleet of the planes to fly from the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers.

The MoD believe it will place the UK at the forefront of fighter technology, giving the RAF a true multi-role all weather, day and night capability, able to operate from well-established land bases, deployed locations or the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.

Lightning II is a STOVL aircraft: Short Take Off Vertical Landing.

The six United States Marine Corps (USMC) Lightning II aircraft are onboard USS WASP, off the coast of the United States’ Eastern Seaboard. The aircraft are assessing the ship/air integration and effectiveness across flight operations, communications, maintenance support and logistical supply. Operational Test activity will include carrier qualifications for aircraft take-off and landing, and air combat/air defence missions over sea.

Royal Navy engineer, Ian Tidball takes you on a tour of F-35B Lightning II.

The Royal Navy’s vision for tactical integration of the F-35B into their current arsenal is similar to the Marine Corps’ plan to integrate the F-35 with legacy aircraft, such as the AV-8B Harrier and the F/A-18 Hornet, and gradually phase out legacy aircraft over the coming decades.

Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Neil Mathieson, the UK’s F-35 Ship Integration Lead, said:

By 2020, UK combat airpower will consist of Typhoon and F-35B Lightning II, a highly potent and capable mix of fourth and fifth generation fighter aircraft. With Typhoon already established as one of the premier multi-role fighters in the world, the F-35 brings a complementary next-generation level of survivability and lethality. This will ultimately provide the UK with an unprecedented level of capability in a single platform.