LIGHTNING IITHE FIGHTER EVOLUTION - F-35

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he most significant event for me –

the big programme milestone – is

the declaration of initial operational

capability (IOC) of the UK’s first fifth-

generation fighter aircraft at the end of

this year. Part of that is bringing the

F-35Bs back to the UK this summer and

starting the work-up period and bringing

the various lines of development together

• the people, the training, our concepts,
  support, logistics and doctrine – so that
  we can declare IOC by December.
  The Lightning itself has been a long time
  in development – it’s a hugely complex
  aircraft and it is brilliant. As two services
  
  
  • the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy
    
    
    • we need to learn to operate a
      fifth-generation aeroplane
      because it offers so much
      capability. We have sensors
      on this platform that
      are world leading. The
      radar is incredible, the
      sensor fusion is simply
      fantastic, and it’s all
      been brought together
      in a low-observable (LO)
      package for what we refer to
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

now as a ‘fifth-gen fighter’. So, it’s about

how we exploit those varied aspects to

the full. It’s not only the goal for this

year but also it’s about our ambitions

going forward. What comes next? What

is the potential of the Lightning?

Ambitions realised

I have the privilege of looking after not

only the Lightning, but also the Eurofighter

Typhoon, the UK’s Future Combat Air

System (FCAS) and the synthetic domain.

As well as F-35B IOC this year, we have

the realisation of the multi-role Centurion

Typhoon with MBDA’s incredible long-

range Meteor missile, the Dual-Mode Seeker

Brimstone anti-armour weapon and the

Storm Shadow standoff cruise missile.

What we call ‘intrinsic ISR’ (intelligence,

surveillance and reconnaissance) enables

us to evaluate how we extract the full

potential from both the F-35 and the

Typhoon. For example, if the Typhoon’s

PIRATE infrared search and tracking

system detects something, how do we

ensure we exploit that data to the

full across all platforms? We now

Air Commodore Lincoln

Taylor is the Assistant

Chief of Staff, Capability

Delivery – Combat Air,

Royal Air Force. He

is also the UK Senior

Responsible Owner (SRO)

for the F-35. As the UK’s

first Lightnings prepare

for initial operational

capability, no one is

better qualified

to provide an

overview of

the British

programme.

T