A
n RAF Lockheed Martin F-35B
Lightning II will come to a halt
above the Royal Navy’s newest
aircraft carrier, HMS Queen
Elizabeth off the US eastern seaboard in
the autumn 2018. The pilot will engage the
automatic landing controls and the aircraft
will gently put down under the control of
its lift fan. Once on the deck, the pilot will
manoeuvre his aircraft into a parking spot.
The landing will be the climax of almost
20 years’ work and an investment of nearly£9bn in aircraft, infrastructure and people.
Bringing the F-35B into service with the
RAF and Royal Navy has been the most
costly and ambitious aerospace project in
recent history. The UK government and
aerospace industry has partnered with US
counterparts to field Britain’s first purpose-
designed stealth aircraft.
A revolutionary lift fan system has
added another layer of complexity to the
programme. On top of that, the F-35B
procurement has been closely intertwinedwith the Royal Navy’s £6bn next-generation
aircraft carriers.
For two decades, the F-35 and two
new aircraft carriers have been dogged
by controversy over delays, cost overruns
and uncertainty as to where they fitted into
Britain’s defence strategy. In June, HMS
Queen Elizabeth put to sea for the first
time and later sailed into her home port at
Portsmouth Naval Base. Her sister ship,
HMS Prince of Wales is due to be handed
over to the Royal Navy in mid-2019.STEALTH
FORCE
The RAF F-35 fleet is
steadily building up in
the US and 2018
promises to be a big
year for the Lightning
Force. Tim Ripley
charts the journey of the
UK’s new stealthy fast jet.
54 Aviation News incorporating Jets January 2018RAF 100th ANNIVERSARY
54-58_raf_f35DC.mfDC.mf.indd 54 04/12/2017 11:21