The F-35 Lightning II is a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat.
Some improvements over current-generation fighter aircraft are:
- Durable, low-maintenance stealth technology;
- Integrated avionics and sensor fusion that combine information from off- and onboard sensors to increase the pilot's situational awareness and improve identification and weapon delivery, and to relay information quickly to other command and control (C2) nodes;
- High speed MIL-STD-1394B data networking
- Low life-cycle costs.
It is reported that the Aircraft will be produced under licence in Turkey by Turkish Aerospace Industries.
The F-35A not only matches the F-16 in maneuverability, instantaneous and sustained high-g performance, but also outperforms it in stealth, payload, range on internal fuel, avionics, operational effectiveness, supportability, and survivability. It also has an internal laser designator and infra-red sensors.
Armament:
1 x GAU-12/U 25 mm cannon — slated to be mounted internally with 180 rounds in the F-35A
Internally (current planned weapons for integration) up to four AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-9X Sidewinder or AIM-132 ASRAAM internally or two air-to-air and two air-to-ground weapons (up to two 2,000 lb weapons in A and C models; two 1000 lb weapons in the B model) in the bomb bays. These could be AMRAAM, the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) — up to 2,000 lb (910 kg), the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), Small Diameter Bombs (SDB) — a maximum of 4 in each bay, the Brimstone anti-armor missiles, Cluster Munitions (WCMD) and High Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM). The MBDA Meteor air-to-air missile is currently being adapted to fit internally in the missile spots and may be integrated into the F-35.
At the expense of being more detectable by radar, many more missiles, bombs and fuel tanks can be attached on four wing pylons and two wingtip positions. The two wingtip pylons can only carry short-range air-to-air missiles (AIM-9s), while the Storm Shadow and Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM) cruise missiles can be carried in addition to the stores already integrated. An air-to-air load of 12 AIM-120s and 2 AIM-9s is conceivable using internal and external weapons stations, as well as a configuration of six two thousand pound bombs, 2 AIM-120s, and 2 AIM-9s.
Directed-energy weapons
Directed-energy weapons may be installed in conventional takeoff F-35 Lightning IIs, whose lack of a direct lift fan frees up about 10 ft3 (0.28 m3) of space and whose engine provides more than 27,000 hp (20 MW) for electrical power. Some concepts, including solid state lasers and high-power microwave beams, may be nearing operational status.
Türkiye F-35 üretimine ortak oldu:
Türkiye yeni nesil F-35 savaş uçağı projesinin üretim aşamasında yer alacak dokuz ülkeden biri oldu. Türkiye'nin, proje çerçevesinde gelecek 15-20 yılda 100 adet F-35 savaş uçağı alması planlanıyor.
Geleceğin harekat ortamında Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığının ihtiyaçlarını karşılamak amacıyla Yeni Nesil Savaş Uçağının tedarik edilmesi kapsamında JSF projesine katılım sağlanmıştır. Proje, Konsept Gösterim Safhası (Concept Demonstration Phase-CDP) (1993-2001), Sistem Geliştirme ve Gösterim Safhası (System Development and Demonstration-SDD) (2001-2012) ve Üretim Destek Safhası (Production and Sustainment-P&S) olmak üzere 3 aşamada yürütülmektedir.
İlk aşama olan CDP safhasında Boeing ve Lockheed Martin (LM) Firmaları tarafından yapılan tasarımlar değerlendirilerek, LM firmasının tasarımı uygun bulunmuş ve 26 Ekim 2001 tarihinde LM ana yüklenici firma olarak seçilmiştir. Proje SDD safhasında olup, Türkiye SDD safhasına 11 Temmuz 2002 tarihinde 3ncü seviyeden katılım sağlamıştır. Projede 1nci seviyeden Amerika ve İngiltere, 2nci seviyeden Hollanda ve İtalya, 3ncü seviyeden Türkiye, Danimarka, Norveç, Avustralya ve Kanada olmak üzere toplam 9 ülke bulunmaktadır.
Proje kapsamında klasik kalkış iniş yapabilen (Conventional Take Off and Landing-CTOL), dikey iniş kalkış yapabilen (Short Take Off and Vertical Landing-STOVL), Uçak gemisine kalkış iniş yapabilen (Carrier Vehicle-CV) olmak üzere 3 ayrı konfigürasyonda uçak üretilecektir. Uçaklarda kullanılacak motorlar Pratt and Whitney (P&W) ve General Electric (GE) firmaları tarafından üretilecek olup her iki firmanın motoru da uçakta herhangi bir ayar gerektirmeden kullanılabilecektir. Proje kapsamındaki lojistik faaliyetlerin tam otomasyona bağlı "Performansa Dayalı Lojistik" konseptine uygun olarak yürütülmesi planlanmaktadır.
Tags: F35 JSF Turkey Türkiye Turkish Air Force stovl jet fighter stealth radar evading supersonic
