EQUIPMENT / LIGHTNING II <<
(left) Training of UK RAF and RN pilots on the F-35 Lightning II has already commenced at Elgin Air Force Base in the US.
(right) UK Defence Secretary Philip
Hammond announces the decision to purchase the STOVL Lightning II for the RAF and RN.
AFTER a period of uncertainty about the variant required, a decision on Lightning II has been made. At a recent ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas, the UK formally accepted the first of the Joint Strike Fighters, to be known as Lightning II. The aircraft chosen is the Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) version of the F-35, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, and the UK is the first country outside the US to receive these aircraft. Britain’s Defence Secretary Philip Hammond also announced that the MoD intends to order a fourth Lightning II aircraft next year to add to the three already on contract.
The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy will conduct flight trials of the jets, which will operate from land bases and from aircraft carriers.
Over the past 18 months the STOVL
aircraft has made significant progress, with the first UK example making its maiden flight earlier this year. The aircraft is being used for training Royal Navy and RAF pilots based at Elgin Air Force Base. It will be joined by further Lightning II aircraft during 2013 and 2014. Britain’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will begin sea trials in 2017 and it is expected that Lightning II will begin flight trials off the aircraft carrier the following year. Lightning II will also become operational from land based airfields in 2018.
Defence Secretary Hammond said: “This hugely capable combat aircraft is now officially British and in the hands of our expert pilots. Highly skilled British aerospace workers are also playing a vital role in delivery of Lightning II, with UK companies involved in 15 per cent of the
production. Having taken decisions on the final designs of our new aircraft carriers and balanced the MoD’s budget we can now proceed confidently to regenerating our carrier strike capability with these cutting edge stealth combat aircraft.” Air Commodore Graham Farnell, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Director (Combat Air) and former Head of the Lightning project team, noted: “It was hugely exciting to take part in the handover of the first aircraft to the MoD, and a great day for the DE&S team, all of whom have been involved in a lot of hard work alongside our US and industry colleagues to achieve this important milestone. This event really does mark the dawn of a new capability for the UK’s Armed Forces. We are now looking forward to the award of the contract for the fourth aircraft and long lead items for
> winter 2012_13 |
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