combat aircraft

S

EPTEMBER AND OCTOBER

were months of highs and

lows for the F-35B short

take-o and vertical landing

variant of the stealthy

Lightning II  ghter. The

inaugural touchdown on the new British

aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was

a huge moment for UK air power, but

it was unfortunately overshadowed by

the  rst ever crash for the type when an

F-35B went down near MCAS Beaufort,

North Carolina.

According to a US Marine Corps news

release, the aircraft was assigned to

training squadron VMFAT-501 ‘Warlords’

and the pilot ejected safely. Images of a

thick plume of black smoke emanating

from Little Barnwell Island, which appears

to lie in the Beaufort air tra c pattern,

are all that have been seen regarding the

incident. Rumors circulated about engine

issues being a feasible cause. More

than a week later, presumably as initial

 ndings became clear, the F-35 Joint

Program O ce (JPO) issued a temporary

grounding order for all variants on

October 10 to allow for inspections of a

speci c fuel line related to the aircraft’s

Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan.

While the grounding may have

grabbed defense headlines, in reality

the inspections were completed rapidly

and most of the  eet was back in the air

within days.

It all coincided — rather unfortunately

— with the continued  rst of class  ight

trials for the F-35B aboard HMS Queen

Elizabeth (R08). The UK Ministry of Defence

said in a statement, ‘We have paused some

F-35  ying as a precautionary measure

while we consider the  ndings of an

ongoing enquiry.’ It added that the trials

‘continue and the programme remains on

schedule.’ Continue they did, and in truth

the grounding appears to have had little

The last two months have seen a spell of gains and a notable

setback for Lockheed Martin’s F-35B Lightning II.

REPORT Jamie Hunter Cdr Nathan Gray

shows his delight

at becoming

the fi rst pilot to

land an F-35 on

the new British

aircraft carrier.

Crown Copyright/

LPhot Kyle Heller

impact on the excellent progress being

made on the ship.

FOCFT

After Cdr Nathan Gray became the  rst

pilot to land an F-35B aboard the new

pride of the Royal Navy when he touched

down on the Queen Elizabeth in BF-05 on

September 25, the Integrated Test Force

(ITF) at NAS Patuxent River built su cient

con dence to move swiftly into night

http://www.combataircraft.net // December 2018 77