The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter will make its international debut appearance in British skies this summer at two o...
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter will make its international debut appearance in British skies this summer at two of the world’s biggest air shows in July-the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford and at the Farnborough International Air Show.
This will be the first flight of the fifth generation fighter outside United States since its maiden flight in December 2006.
The Royal International Air Tattoo is open to the public from 11-13 July and Farnborough International Air Show is open to trade visitors from 14-18 July and to the public from 19-20 July.
Lockheed has delivered three F-35B aircrafts to Britain, which are all currently based in the US undertaking training with Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots.
The first British F-35B aircraft made its maiden flight in April 2012 and is due to begin its trials from the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in 2018.
The debuting aircraft will be one of the three British F-35B piloted by a British pilot. The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy plan to operate a total 138 F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variant.
The decision to fly the F35 was taken following discussions between British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and his US counterpart Chuck Hagel.
UK has invested $2.5 billion in the $392 billion F-35 program and is the sole Level 1 partner. Approximately 15% of every aircraft is built in the UK.
The UK’s first operational F-35 squadron, 617 Squadron, is scheduled to transition to RAF Marham in Norfolk from the US in 2018.
The F35 Lightning II will be the wings of Britain’s two future Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.
Some 130 British firms are providing parts and equipment for F-35, worth around £1bn per year to the UK economy.
Major British suppliers include:
1. BAE Systems which designs and manufactures the aft fuselage, horizontal tails and vertical tails for the F-35.
2. Cobham which supplies the refueling probe for the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) and the F-35C carrier variant (CV).
3. Martin-Baker supplies the ejection seat.
4. Rolls-Royce supplies lift system for the F-35B STOVL, which consists of the lift fan, the three-bearing swivel module, the roll post modules and the lift fan vane box.
5. MBDA produces the Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM).
6. UTC Aerospace Systems produces the weapons bay door drive system, utilities actuation and uplock components for the F-35.
