The inaugural
weapons separation test of the Paveway IV conducted by the F-35 Lightning
II Patuxent River Integrated Test Force (ITF) was a major milestone
for the U.K. Royal Navy and RAF F-35 program. The test brought together
the multi-role Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of
the F-35 fifth generation stealth fighter and the Paveway IV —
an advanced weapon that equips the Royal Navy and RAF with a state-of-the-art,
all-weather Inertial Navigation- and GPS-guided bombing capability,
the first dual mode bomb operational on the F-35 Lightning II.
The inert bombs safely separated from an internal weapons bay within
the F-35B, thereby maintaining the stealth characteristics of the aircraft
and furthering the collaborative approach of the U.S. and U.K. in the
development of the F-35 Lightning II. |
The U.K.
is the only Level 1 partner with the U.S. on the joint, multinational
acquisition to develop and field an affordable, highly common family
of next generation strike fighter aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, Navy,
Marine Corps, and eight international partners. Its major role in the
F-35’s System Design and Demonstration phase is enabling the regeneration
of the U.K. Carrier Strike capability, which will result in significant
contracts and jobs for U.K. industry as the F-35B Lightning II and Typhoon
become the U.K.’s Fast Jet Combat Air Elements of the future.
The primary role of the F-35B STOVL aircraft is ground attack with a
secondary air-to-air role. The aircraft is powered by a single main
engine with a vertically-mounted, shaft-driven lift fan propulsion system.
The F-35 Lightning II Pax River ITF joint team, assigned to the Air
Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 aboard Naval Air Station Patuxent
River in Maryland, released two Paveway IV bombs during the flight.
Working on the multi-phase testing of the F-35 Block 3F, U.K.-unique
Paveway IV are U.S. government, military and contractor personnel, U.K.
Ministry of Defence representatives, and U.K. industry partners from
BAE Systems, QinetiQ and Raytheon Systems Ltd. |
