Airforces - Demo Hornet

by the F-35 Integrated Test Force
from NAS Patuxent River.” Three
UK test pilots – Lt Cdr Nathan Gray,
Sqn Ldr Andy Edgell and BAE’s
F-35 Pete ‘Wizzer’ Wilson – will
be among the first to land on the
carrier. However, No 617 Squadron
will supply pilots as landing safety
officers (LSOs), to provide them
with carrier experience before the
‘Dambusters’ carry out in-service
tests on HMS Queen Elizabeth in
September/October next year.
As the Royal Navy’s deputy
Lightning Force commander, Cdr
Adam ‘Clinky’ Clink pointed out:

“We were very lucky to become

a Tier 1 partner with a $2bn initial

investment to get our industry

involved in the programme. As

part of the deal we make up 10%

of the test force including assets

associated with the UK. The

aircraft being used in these carrier

flight trials will not be UK aircraft,

but they will be instrumented

test jets that we partly own.”

At around the same time, No

17 Squadron at Edwards Air

Force Base, California – which is

responsible for three F-35Bs – will

test and evaluate the jets to

Above: By the mid-2020s, the UK F-35B’s armoury should include the Meteor

BVRAAM and the Selected Precision Effects At Range (SPEAR) Capability

3 air-to-ground weapon. This model shows internal carriage of a pair of

Meteors and eight SPEARs. Jamie Hunter

1: Deputy Lightning Force commander, Cdr Adam ‘Clinky’ Clink, RN. Alan
Warnes 2: Lightning Force Commander, Air Cdre David ‘Bradders’ Bradshaw.
Alan Warnes 3: Wg Cdr John Butcher, OC No 617 Squadron ‘Dambusters’.
Jamie Hunter 4: UK Minister of Defence Procurement Guto Bebb. Alan Warnes

1

3

2

4

Lightning weapons

Reaching IOC will mean the MBDA

ASRAAM (Advanced Short-Range Air-

to-Air Missile), Raytheon AMRAAM

(Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-

Air Missile) and Raytheon Paveway

IV 500lb (227kg) precision-guided

munition are all operational on the

aircraft. However, around the mid-

2020s, the MBDA Meteor beyond-

visual-range air-to-air missile

(BVRAAM) is expected to replace

the AMRAAM, and the Selected

Precision Effects At Range (SPEAR)

Capability 3 air-to-ground weapon

should take over from the Paveway

IV. The exact timings are being

formulated by the F-35 JPO, which is

developing the Continuous Capability

Development and Delivery (C2D2)

effort to incrementally improve

the aircraft into the 2020s.

SPEAR Cap 3 builds on technology

proven in the Brimstone and Dual

Mode Seeker Brimstone and features

increased standoff range of up

to around 100 miles (161km).

It has a small active millimetric

radar coupled with inertial

navigation system (INS)/GPS

guidance and data link.

Rob Thornleigh, MBDA’s sales and

business development executive,

told AFM: “We should get a contract

this year to continue integration

of Meteor on F-35. We have a

contract to finish up the cropped-

fin work and to purchase the

assets for a trials programme.

“While the C2D2 contract has not

been finalised, we are looking at

the early 2020s to finish the flight

trials and then put it to the fleet.”

Weapons development cannot

begin until a product is on the front

line, as part of the F-35 agreement.

SPEAR development trials are being

carried out on the Typhoon, until it’s

mature enough to be integrated on

the F-35 as a fully developed weapon

system. Meanwhile, the Meteor is

already operational in Sweden.

“The Meteor couldn’t be used for

the IOC, because the system has not

been integrated [with the F-35],”

said Thornleigh. “Integration has

to be looked after by Lockheed

Martin and we cannot go separately

or independently as a country.”

Regarding SPEAR Cap 3, Thornleigh

said: “The shape will be the

same on both aircraft. The only

difference is that Typhoon will be

a three-weapon carrier while the

F-35 will be four. On Typhoon it

will look like a Brimstone fit, but

on F-35 it will be bay-mounted.”

For the next few years, UK F-35s

will have Paveway IV, AMRAAM

and ASRAAM until final operational

clearance, when Meteor and

SPEAR will be integrated.

“You can’t have every weapon

that the RAF is currently receiving

at Block 3 [the initial warfighting

capability standard],” Rob Thornleigh

concluded. “You have to pace

it – you have to prioritise. The

MOD wanted ASRAAM under the

wings and Meteor in the bay.

“However, there was no time

during the evolution of Block

3 and the Meteor hadn’t been

fully developed anyway. So, it

will go in Block 4 aircraft.”

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #365 AUGUST 2018 // 37

Airforces

Intelligence

‘In association with ....’