64 // JULY 2018 #364The SDD project included two UK-specific
weapons – the Raytheon Paveway IV
precision-guided bomb and MBDA AIM-
132 ASRAAM (Advanced Short-Range Air-
to-Air Missile), which will be fielded as
part of the UK initial operating capability
(IOC). “We begin with carriage testing
to ensure we have a good fit,” said BAE
Systems test pilot Pete ‘Wizzer’ Wilson.
“Typically, that starts with ground testing;
uploading and downloading the weapons
before we fly them, hanging missiles out
in the airstream, opening the weapons bay
doors and exposing the weapons. We do
that over a range of airspeeds and angles
of attack. We’re checking the acoustics,
the vibration and thermals, before we
eventually get to releasing the weapon.
Then we get into testing their accuracy.”
While much of the test work for these
weapons was undertaken at Patuxent River,
the majority of the firings were carried out from
Edwards Air Force Base, California, due to
the presence of suitable ranges and targets.
“All Paveway IV and ASRAAM work is
complete from a DT [development test]
perspective,” Wilson explained. Operational
testing of these weapons at No 17 Test and
Evaluation Squadron (TES) is expected this
year. “The weapons work was undertakenRAF 100
Above: The fi rst-of-class sea trials later this year will see two test F-35Bs from NAS Patuxent River
detached to the HMS ‘Queen Elizabeth’. Lockheed Martin Below: F-35C test aircraft CF-02 touches
down at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, at the conclusion of the fi nal System Development and
Demonstration fl ight on April 11, 2018. The fl ight was piloted by Pete Wilson and was intended to
collect loads data while carrying four external 2,000lb (907kg) GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions
and AIM-9X air-to-missiles. Lockheed Martin