F-35C logs first landing aboard Ford-class aircraft carrier
The John F Kennedy is the US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier and the second vessel in the Ford-class line.
Lockheed Martin’s F-35C naval strike fighter has logged its first landing aboard one of the US Navy’s new Ford-class aircraft carriers.
The milestone, which took place on 13 October off the coast of Virginia, did not occur on the lead Ford-class vessel – the USS Gerald R Ford. Instead, it was the pre-commissioning John F Kennedy that received the jets as part of aircraft compatibility testing ahead of the ship’s final delivery and commissioning.
Two specially instrumented F-35Cs from the navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 were used for the test, which the USN says are meant to assess the operational capabilities of the Kennedy‘s aircraft launch and recovery equipment.
Ford-class carriers feature entirely redesigned systems for that purpose, including electromagnetically driven launch catapults and the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system, which replace the legacy steam catapult and hydraulic recovery system of the Nimitz-class. Both devices were designed and built by General Atomics.
The 13 October landing marks the first time an F-35C has recovered aboard a carrier using the AAG.
Two F-35 test pilots from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 completed F-35C’s first-ever landing aboard a Ford-class carrier on 13 October in the western Atlantic. Source: US Navy
The reason that the milestone did not occur aboard the actively serving Gerald R Ford is that the lead vessel is not yet able to accommodate the F-35.
This is due to the hotter engine exhaust produced by the F-35’s large Pratt & Whitney F135 engine. Some of the existing Nimitz-class carriers have been retrofitted with more robust jet blast deflectors and a specialised protective coating for the flight deck to support F-35C operations.
The navy has previously said there are no compatibility issues between the F-35C, the EMALS and the AAG installed on the Ford-class ships.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, which completed a marathon 322-day combat deployment to the Middle East earlier in October, embarked with one squadron of F-35Cs and three squadrons of Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
The currently deployed USS George Washington, which replaced the Lincoln in the Middle East, is also carrying F-35Cs. The USS Carl Vinson and Theodore Roosevelt have also been equipped to support the stealth fighter.
The US Navy is gradually modifying its Nimitz-class carriers, along with the USS Gerald R Ford, to accommodate the F-35C Source: US Navy
It is unclear if the oldest Nimitz-class carriers will ever receive the upgrades needed to operate the F-35C, as those are approaching retirement.
While the USS Ford is still awaiting the modifications necessary to support the F-35C, the Kennedy was built with them included from the start. The ship is in the late stages of the build process, with contractor HII having completed acceptance trials in August.
Notably, there has been no confirmation of the jet taking off from Kennedy. While the navy released images of one of the jets (tail number 401) hooking one of the Kennedy‘s arresting wires, the service has provided no similar documentation of the F-35C launching via one of the ship’s four EMALS (Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System) catapults.
The navy approved preliminary acceptance of the Kennedy as a “Pre-Commissioning Unit” on 29 September. The carrier will receive its full “USS” designation upon final acceptance and commissioning, expected in 2027.
The Gerald R Ford returned home in May after completing a record-setting 326-day deployment. The carrier is currently undergoing repairs, work which is expected to run through March 2027.
The post F-35C logs first landing aboard Ford-class aircraft carrier first appeared on FlightGlobal.
Source: www.flightglobal.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.