Course: Aircraft Design and Development
Introduction
1. Background, context, perspective, history, enabling technological advances
The production of the F-22 Raptor Advanced Stealth Fighter aircraft was shockingly terminated by the US Congress reportedly due to a decrease in suitable aerial warfare application and an unstainable operational and maintenance cost (Archibal, 2016). The US Department of Defense and its allies aimed to adapt to the new characteristics of aerial warfare by developing the F-35 Joint Strike Aircraft. In fact, the decline of the Cold War minimized the importance of air-to-air combat applications and its aircraft maneuverability requirements. The objective was to update aging aircraft fleets with the most current and innovative enabling technologies while mitigating the high development, operational and maintenance cost incurred with the F-22 Raptor program. On the 26th of October 2001, Lockheed Martin was selected to build the F-35 aircraft based on a proposed multi-configuration concept which addressed the varying needs and demands of the US Department of Defense and its allies (U.S. Department of Defense, 2015).
2. Design goals and top-level requirements
The goal of the F-35 program was to develop a cost effective single seat Advanced Stealth Fighter aircraft with the capabilities of the F-16, F-18, A-10 and the AV-8B Harrier. Supersonic maximum speeds, conventional take-off, and landing (CVTOL) and short-take-off and landing (STOVL) were among the defined requirements for the aircraft. Lockheed Martin defined three objectives for the program. First, establish the possibility of building a common CTOL and STOVL and naval variants of a Joint Strike Aircraft. Second, demonstrate STOVL performance and supersonic speed on the same flight. Third, demonstrate handling qualities and carrier suitability of the Naval variant (Chapman, 2019). As a result, three variants of the F-35 were to be developed for the US Department of Defense.
Synthesis and Analysis
3. Cost, materials, technical, and environmental constraints
The F-35 Program was characterized by the demand for a minimization of development and operational cost while maintaining advanced stealth capabilities. The push for a lower aircraft budget negated the possibility of developing multiple aircraft to address conflicting physical and functional requirements and performance characteristics from the legacy Fighter aircraft. Lockheed Martin was constrained to the development of a single aircraft type with multiple variants tailored to specific sets of performance characteristics and mission capabilities as a mean to address varying market demands represented by the requests for different aircraft engineering and operational characteristics (Chapman, 2019). Prior DARPA functional and constraint analysis data specified an empty-weight requirement of 24000 lb. and a thrust range of 22000 lb. to 44000 lb. for this type of aircraft (Bevilaqua, 2009).
4. Trades made to achieve selected optimum
The objective with the F-35 program was to adapt to changing characteristics of aerial warfare and update an aging fleet of fighter aircraft with a single aircraft equipped with the most current and innovative enabling technologies. The program did not prioritize maneuverability which is essential to air-to-air combat. Systems interoperability and the integration of advanced technologies were prioritized. The aircraft is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, an Electronic Warfare and Counter Measure systems, an Electro-Optical targeting system, an Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture system and a Communication, Navigation, Identification (CNI) avionics suite (Lemons et al., 2018). This program required significantly more funds than budgeted to meet specifications and defined constraints.
Evaluation and Conclusion
5. Final design effectiveness evaluation, strengths, and weaknesses
The F-35 aircraft enabled the US Department of Defense and its allies to meet the objective of replacing multiple older aircraft with a single aircraft. It did require the development of multiple variants. For example, the USAF can deploy the F-35A as a supersonic fighter bomber while the F-35B is capable of shorts take-offs and vertical landing. The US NAVY has the F-35C as a special aircraft-carrier variant (Schwede & Brookes, 2015). The F-35 A is characterized by a maximum speed of 1.6 Mach, a service ceiling of 15200 m and a wingspan of 10.67m . It is powered by the Pratt & Whitney F-135-100 turbofan. Nevertheless, the F-35 is not superior to its predecessors. From a performance characteristic and enabling technologies standpoint, fighter aircraft such as the JAS 39 Gripen, the F-22 Raptor, the Dassault Rafale, the Russian Sukhoi Su-27, the F-16 and even the Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A can outperform the F-35 in air-to-air combat. This is because these aircraft exhibit greater performance characteristics such as turn rate, load factor and range (Schwede & Brookes, 2015).
6. Lessons learned applicable to today.
The most significant solution demonstrated by the F-35 program is the aircraft research and development cost sharing strategy. Cost sharing by allied countries lowered the financial burden on each country and ensure aircraft development and maintenance cost are sustainable by each party. The F-35 was also an interoperability and system integration success as it demonstrated that multiple conflicting performance requirements can be integrated into a single system. By developing aircraft variants capable of meeting different sets of mission capabilities and performance characteristics, manufacturers ensured that the F-35 remains marketable and competitive for multiple mission types.
References
Archibal D. (2016). American Gripen: The Solution to the F-35 Nightmare. Las Vegas, NV:
Stairway Press:
Bevilaqua, P. M. (2009). Genesis of the F-35 joint strike fighter. Journal of Aircraft, 46(6), 1825-
1836. doi:10.2514/1.42903
Chapman, B. (2019). Global Defense Procurement and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (1st ed.
2019.). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01367-7
Lemons G., Carrington K., Frey T., Ledyard J. (2018, June 24). F-35 Mission Systems Design,
Development and Verification. doi:10.2514/6.2018-3519
Schwede, F., & Brookes, G. (2015). Fighter Aircraft Since 1945. Stuttgart, [Germany]: Pen &
Sword Aviation.
Terra, N. C. (2015). The F-35 joint strike fighter program: Background, Affordability and
Sustainability issues. New York: Nova Publishers.
U.S. Department of Defense. (2015). F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft, Selected Acquisition
Report: RCS: DD-A&T(Q&A)823-198. Retrieved from
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