Next-generation fighter F-35B, which is difficult to project on radar and can fly at supersonic speed, successful in vertical landing experiment

(Photo byLocheed martin)

movies"Die · Hard 4.0"The scene where Mr. McLane who hovers along the elevated road and escaped with a car crushed machine gun sweep was impressive, Lockheed Martin'sF-35 Fighter.

Among the F - 35 born as a result of the "Integrated Battle Fighter (JSF) Program" that collects all fighters and attacking machines used in the military into this one machine and mass - produces it to suppress procurement costs, B type is a model capable of vertical takeoff and landing, but the plan lags behind the schedule It seems that on March 17th it finally succeeded in vertical takeoff and landing.

Was it really worth waiting? Experimental video is from the following.
Lockheed Martin F - 35 Joint Strike Fighter Succeeds In First Vertical Landing | Lockheed Martin

In the experiment conducted on March 17,Pratt & WhitneyThe BF - 1 prototype machine equipped with the company 's F135 engine first took off at a low speed comparable to a small aircraft such as Cessna which is about 150 km / h. After hovering for about 1 minute, I made a successful vertical landing toward a landing pad 30 meters square.

The former British Air Force who skipped the experimental machine and now BAE's test pilot Graham Tomlinson said, "The amount of work done in the cockpit during vertical landing is far less than the S / VTOL aircraft so far, , We will dramatically expand the capabilities of the aircraft fleet. "

F - 35 to take off at ultra low speed.

(Photo byLocheed martin)

Here is the video of the experiment day.

YouTube - F-35B First Vertical Landing


The F - 35 is capable of supersonic flight using an afterburner, is designed to have some degree of stealth, and the future is currently used in the militaryF / A-18YaA-10, Of the same vertical take-off and landing aircraftAV-8BIt is considered to be replaced with. If realized, the procurement price will decline due to mass production effect, and it can be expected that the maintenance cost can be suppressed by unifying the models.

Incidentally, it was the development of the former Soviet Union that was the basis of the basic structure of the vertical take off and landing of the F - 35 BYak-141. Although the development stopped due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there are rumors that it has been revived in recent years.

YouTube - Як - 141 Як - 41 Yak - 141


F-35 is famous as "strongest"F-22It is incomparable performance compared with the performance, procurement price,It is nearly doubled from the planned stage of 50 million dollars (about 4.5 billion yen)There are also feelings that are getting out of the way from the original plan. In the Air Self Defense Force it is said that 40 F-35s will be installedThere was a rumorBut what will happen?