Electric Jet

The very form of the F-35 suggests stealth. There is an absence of external tanks and ordinance, with everything stored internally, including a massive 8. 3 tonnes (18,250lb) of fuel. A fixed array radar instead of the traditional flat plate in the aircraft’s nose and curved diverterless inlets house a ‘buried’ engine that reduces the aircraft’s signature significantly. Flush sensors replace traditional angle of attack sensors and pitot probes and the list goes on.

The F-35’s electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) provides pilots with precise air-to-air and air-to-ground targeting capability. The system enables aircrews to identify areas of interest, perform reconnaissance and precisely deliver laser- and GPS-guided weapons. So sensitive is the system that it can sense the difference in residual heat between an open car parking space and one that had been shielded previously by a vehicle. On a recent flight in the United States, the system detected a Cape Canaveral rocket launch 900 miles away.

Furthermore, the system allows F-35s to network in the air. Without verbal communication targets can be identified, prioritised and assigned between F-35s with the leader allocating which aircraft strikes which target – all without words. The analogy has been drawn that previously it was a world of American football where one quarterback directed and only limited players could make a touchdown. In the world of the F-35 it is more like soccer where every player has the ability to score a goal.

The F-35 helmet takes augmented reality to the next level. Through the distributed aperture system (DAS), high-resolution, real-time images are streamed from six infrared cameras mounted around the aircraft, straight to the pilot’s visor. It is as if the pilot is sitting in a sphere and can look straight through the floor to see what lies below with a wealth of information overlaid. Having worn the helmet, your writer can attest to the light weight and incredible imagery available – and that was only on an unclassified level of the helmet.

Flying the F-35 simulator

Within Lockheed Martin’s F-35 dedicated exhibition hall at Avalon sits an array of stands. Australian suppliers to the F-35 program sit side by side displaying examples of their contributions to the F-35 program. The range of components and support equipment is diverse: airframe, engine components, avionics, composites, courseware, support equipment, tooling, the list goes on.

The CTOL vertical tail (VT) is a prime example. Victorian-based Marand Precision Engineering is a prime contractor for the VT and is responsible for the project management and final assembly of the aerostructure, Adelaide-based BAE Systems Australia produces titanium frames and NSW’s Quickstep manufactures the composite skins.

Within the same hall a central screen broadcasts amazing images of the new fighter, but the main attraction sits in the far corner, annexed behind dark grey tinted glass – the F-35 simulator. Kenn Cooper, a senior specialist in simulation, is ‘talking’ VIPs around the sky as they each take their turn at the controls. With zero flight experience in some cases, the fledgling pilots manoeuvre the F-35 around the sky under Kenn’s measured instructions.

I watch on keenly as he instructs his student to push forward with the left hand or pull back with the right in a prompt but unhurried manner, all the way to touchdown. As the pilot’s seat is vacated and without warning I am asked to climb aboard.

Settling into the seat, there are similarities with the Airbus A320 in organising one’s positioning. Seat forward to have full authority over the rudder pedals and sitting high enough to look tangentially down the glareshield. Just as the arm rest is adjusted to grasp the side stick appropriately on an Airbus, the same technique applies to the F-35, although there are two arm rests to adjust. To the left sits the thrust lever and to the right the control column and both have a myriad of switches and associated functions jutting out from their very contoured form.

In addition to imagery displaying the real world outside, the screen immediately ahead of me displays a large amount of data in a head-up display (HUD) format. The actual F-35 doesn’t possess a HUD, that information is found on the visor of the pilot’s helmet.

There are similarities with the Airbus A320 in organising one’s positioning.

Lined up on the runway and with minimal briefing, Kenn calls for me to advance the thrust which I do to its limit, passing through the afterburner gate. He informs me that the afterburner is not required at my current weight, but where’s the fun in that? The speed tape on the HUD rattles ever-faster and in no time I rotate and set course for the heavens.

The first overwhelming impression is the ease in interpreting the HUD information. Combined with the F-35’s fly-by-wire (FBW) and the absence of any need to trim, it is relatively straightforward to climb away at the desired speed and body angle as I reduce the thrust below the afterburner gate.

I level out and start to take in the scenery generated on the three wrap-around screens ahead of me. The realism is striking and I consider what it would look like if I was wearing the advanced helmet system of real F-35 pilots which would allow me to look away and retain the HUD information on my visor. My pondering is cut short as Kenn calls for a few manoeuvres.

I pitch up, bank steeply, roll and loop – all under the guidance of the HUD. It makes me look good, but I am well aware that I am not pulling the heaving G-forces associated with some of the inputs I am feeding into the side-stick. Content that I have settled in, Kenn begins to explain the various functions and displays that are at my fingertips.

The main display, or tactical situation display, is dotted with symbols representing everything from aircraft to airfields and there are many more icons not displayed that a pilot must learn. The information is fed from the aircraft’s radar or from any accompanying aircraft that can contribute information to the overall picture. Both air-to-ground and air-to-air targets are displayed with their own symbology. The F-35 has the ability to target the enemy aircraft and retain that targeting as it slips by in stealth to strike a ground target such as an airfield.

The 8 x 20 inch display offers a seemingly limitless number and combination of displays to the pilot. In addition to the tactical situation display are threat warning, stores management, infrared targeting displays and synthetic aperture radar – all of which are logically laid out and very easy to read. In company with the automation, providing well laid out, timely and concise information enhances the pilot’s situational awareness and makes for an effective battlefield tactician. And Kenn intends to show me how.

Identifying an enemy aircraft on the main display, I move the cursor using a free-moving switch on the thrust lever beneath my left hand to overlay the target data box. With my right hand I use the target designation switch to ‘click’ on the target. With my left hand I move to the top of the thrust lever and use the weapon selector to choose an air-to-air missile and I am now set.

Ahead on my HUD, a square box identifies the enemy aircraft and I fly the F-35 to overlay the symbology on ‘the box’. All that is left to do is to release the missile with the red button under my right thumb and the simulator screen displays the weapon racing away from the aircraft. The infrared display continues to watch the target as the missile closes in and strikes. The process is all very impressive. It is time to head for home and I follow the HUD’s cues and turn the F-35 away from its recent ‘battle’. I commence descent and begin flying the aircraft towards a long final approach, but the speed still feels way too fast. Kenn reassures me that all is well, although I know it would not be if this was an airliner. The approach profile is on the numbers, but that speed just looks wrong.

Kenn then instructs me to deploy the speedbrakes through a switch on the thrust lever. Sure enough, the speed ticks back right on cue and at a substantial rate. Soon the airspeed is suitable to extend the landing gear, flaps are controlled automatically, and the fully configured F-35 is ready to land as the runway looms ahead. To be honest, I have to do very little as the aircraft seems to want to sit ‘in the slot’ of its own accord and I have no intention of interrupting it.

Over the threshold, the airline pilot in me retards the thrust a touch prematurely, but otherwise the F-35 settles onto the runway nicely and decelerates down the centerline. I steer with my feet and apply the brakes with my toes, just as I would any aircraft and finally we come to a halt.

For such an enjoyable simulator experience, there is no mistaking that the F-35 is equipped for a new generation of aerial combat, where the ability to remain undetected, see first first and shoot first is more important than ever. It brings big data and networking to the sky in a machine boasting stealth at every turn. Respecting that I didn’t have to ‘pull G’ or deal with the many variables an F-35 pilot needs to consider, my ‘flight’ gave this layman an insight into the complexities of the modern aerial battlefield and the information and options available to the pilot.

It’s an amazing world where the modern fighter pilot is called to not only possess the manipulative ability to fly the aircraft, but management skills to efficiently utilise all available resources and maintain an incredible level of situational awareness. From my glimpse, it would seem that the F-35 provides the pilot with these tools while still allowing computers to do what they do best and pilots to do what they do best. It is a new frontier and as I walk away from the F-35 simulator, I can only marvel at the fighter pilot’s world. And begin to wonder where do we go from here?

The speed still feels way too fast but Kenn reassures me that all is well.