F-35 On Tarmac Question, friends close encounter experience.

So a friend of mine calls me up yesterday and was pretty excited to tell me this. Anytime he sees anything "questionable" or unusual he gets ahold of me. He works for a contractor from the same Local as me.

He is currently working at Scott AFB doing some HVAC work. Where he was working he required to have an an escort. It was a tech sergeant. He proceeded to tell me that as they were walking near the tarmac he immediately noticed a fighter jet parked on the tarmac. What got his attention was the color of the jet. It was a different color grey than the other planes. He also noted that the plane did not have any identification numbers on the tail. It only had a red dot. The plane was surrounded by caution tape.

The Tech sergeant took notice of his interest in tge plane and mentioned it was the talk of the base but did not elaborate.This is where it gets funny though.

When you go on these bases you have to get security clearance to enter and work there.They did not ask for his cell phone though. He told me he tried to nonchalantly pull out his phone and snap a quick picture of the plane. The Tech sergeant noticed and asked him what the hell he was doing. lol.. My friend played the dumb card and said what is that not allowed? The Tech sergeant replied not if you dont want to go to prison for a long time. He took his phone and looked through the pictures and later gave him his phone back. My friend said the tech sergeant was very cool with him though.

They got the fan replaced on the building and left for the day.

He called me and said he thought it was an F-22. I told him to Google some pics because I thought it could be an F-35. He text me back saying it was indeed a F-35.

So why was it a different color, with no tail numbers, and had nothing but a red dot on it?

I thought it was interesting to say the least and I would like to get some information on this from our oustanding ATS members.

Thank you.

Probably under testing and not yet registered for govt use....they do make a few to test out before starting serious production.....
or maybe it was the first unit to be delivered? thus the squadron may have the job of decking it out in the right colours? just sayin...

I am really looking forward to seeing the F35 debut here in the UK at RIAT next month.

Though it has brought some contention from the US, as to it's cost and contract from Lockheed Martin. Security is always tight when new planes are being developed.

There is also contention from the UK as it is due to be stationed here from 2018 though is believed to be outdated already due to it's lack of stealth capacity.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

Britain's long-delayed £70 million stealth fighter may need to be cancelled because of its poor performance, according to an analysis by a senior American air force officer.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter being built for British and US forces is based on outdated ideas of air warfare, it is claimed. The aircraft could be unable to evade enemy radar and be too expensive for long campaigns.
The critique in the US Air Force’s own journal concludes that the new fighter may even have “substantially less performance” than some existing aircraft.
Britain is preparing to buy at least 48 of the Lockheed Martin aircraft to replace its scrapped Harrier jump jets; the US military is expected to order more than 2,400.
The £235 billion programme is the most expensive weapons system in history at a time when defence budgets on both sides of the Atlantic are being cut.

www.foreignpolicy.com...

The United States is making a gigantic investment in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, billed by its advocates as the next -- by their count the fifth -- generation of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat aircraft. Claimed to be near invisible to radar and able to dominate any future battlefield, the F-35 will replace most of the air-combat aircraft in the inventories of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and at least nine foreign allies, and it will be in those inventories for the next 55 years. It's no secret, however, that the program -- the most expensive in American history -- is a calamity.

a reply to: liejunkie01

Because the F-35 is being sold to a number of foreign countries, and their aircraft are in the testing program with US aircraft. The Norwegians and British both have aircraft in the testing program.

a reply to: stirling

Thats what I was thinking, but I was wanting to get some insight from Zaphod or some of the other mebers with experience.

It's just a cool experience and wanted to share and ask a few questions.

The life of a tinner can be lonely, excitement sometimes is hard to come by.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

You won't get to see it hover unfortunately. But it should be an interesting display.

a reply to: Zaphod58

So what does the red dot stand for?

I also told him he was an idiot for trying to take a picture of it.

I still can't believe he tried.lol

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: theabsolutetruth

You won't get to see it hover unfortunately. But it should be an interesting display.

It will hover but it isn't doing a vertical landing.

breakingdefense.com...

F-35 program spokesman Joe DellaVedova told me that the Marine version of the Joint Strike Fighter will perform short takeoffs and landings and perform hovers at both shows. I’m betting you can expect the same at the July 4 christening of the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

a reply to: liejunkie01

It's most likely the marking of the owning nation. There are two Dutch (not Norwegian), and 3 British aircraft currently in testing (2 F-35A, 3 F-35B).

There are also some places that have markings for testing at various points on the aircraft that don't mean anything to the average person.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

I'm surprised. The last I heard they probably weren't even going to hover, because they'd have to get close to the tarmac to do it. I guess they decided it would be ok to do, and could stay high enough it wouldn't cause problems.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Here it is replacing our Harriers which were scrapped and were always a crowd pleaser at RIAT, the contentious aspect of the F35 contract is being downplayed by the government, the last thing they want is negative PR, if it didn't hover at RIAT there would be guaranteed negative publicity. Besides it has the capability and would be selling the show short if it didn't hover. It has been sold the the UK as a superior craft and needs to put on a good show, even if reports suggest otherwise.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

They had to test the ramp to ensure that it wouldn't cause damage. Right now they're in the process of replacing the decking on the Wasp with other testing materials, as well as testing four or five different materials to put down on the ramp. It causes a bad spalling situation that could damage the RAM and the engine if they aren't careful. Pax River put down four different materials on their hover pits to determine the best way to protect the ramp, and the aircraft from damage. Even at low altitude it could cause minor damage to the ramp.

a reply to: Zaphod58

It has to perform as sold, any glitches need ironed out before it makes it's debut, obviously this technicality has been solved, at least temporarily.

a reply to: liejunkie01

Its funny cause I guarantee there is pictures floating all over that base, the service members themselves are the worst at breaking that law.
But still not smart to try and do when you have an escort that is looking for things like that

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

Oh, the aircraft itself performs just fine, as far as the hovering, and basic flight goes. It's the fact that they're having to rebuild the infrastructure for it to do so that has a lot of people pissed off. They're going to have to replace the decking on the entire LHA and LHD fleet to operate them, as well as either replace the ramp itself, or build an addition on top of the ramp for the landing areas.

The engine used in the F-35 operates at temperatures that no other engine has ever operated at in an aircraft, and when hovering it's concentrated in one spot. It's so hot that the concrete can't spread the heat enough to prevent the water in it from turning into steam.

a reply to: Sremmos80

They're not breaking the law. Official photos, and people that have permission to take them. You can't just walk out and take a picture, even though you're on the ramp with an escort. You have to have permission from the Security Police to take them, as well as the people that are working on or around the aircraft.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Yet another tick in the box for calling it an 'albatross'.

Small to large tech issues are one thing and mostly rectifiable but the major contention here, is the cost and obsolete tech, partly due to China gaining the tech from spying. It is hardly a viable stealth craft if it will be visible to the Chinese. There really is a lot of contentious issues about the F35, despite being apparently upgradable throughout it's life span. Let's hope it is being upgraded already before taking delivery.

A cyber espionage operation by China seven years ago produced sensitive technology and aircraft secrets that were incorporated into the latest version of China’s new J-20 stealth fighter jet, according to U.S. officials and private defense analysts.
The Chinese cyber spying against the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II took place in 2007 under what U.S. intelligence agencies codenamed Operation Byzantine Hades, a large-scale, multi-year cyber program that targeted governments and industry.
Defense officials said the stolen data was obtained by a Chinese military unit called a Technical Reconnaissance Bureau in the Chengdu province. The data was then passed to the state-run Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC).


China’s Communist Party-affiliated Global Times reported Jan. 20 that China obtained key technologies from the F-35 and incorporated them into the J-20
The newspaper did not admit stealing the technology, but stated that China “completely obtained the six key technologies” from the F-35.
Those features include the electro-optical targeting system and a diverterless supersonic inlet, a thrust-vectoring jet nozzle, and a fire-control array radar system.
The Global Times disclosures about F-35 technology acquisition were first reported in the Washington Times.


Read more: www.washingtontimes.com...

An AVIC subsidiary, the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, used the stolen data in building the J-20, said defense and intelligence officials familiar with reports of the illicit tech transfer.
Pentagon technology security officials in 2011 opposed a joint venture between General Electric and AVIC over concerns that U.S. fighter jet technology would be diverted to AVIC’s military aircraft programs. The Obama administration ignored the concerns and instead has since promoted the systematic loosening of technology controls on transfers to China.
The Office of Director of National Intelligence is known to have details of AVIC’s past involvement in illicit arms transfers and its role in obtaining sensitive F-35 technology through cyber espionage, the officials said.
The F-35 data theft was confirmed after recent photographs were published on Chinese websites showing a newer version of the J-20. The new version of the radar-evading aircraft had incorporated several design upgrades since the first demonstrator aircraft was revealed in 2011.


Read more: www.washingtontimes.com...

www.telegraph.co.uk...

The Ministry of Defence defended the F-35 as the “most advanced combat jet in the world with unprecedented stealth capability as well as state of the art sensors and weapons”.
A spokeswoman said: “The aircraft has been specifically designed to be updated throughout its lifetime so it can benefit from new technology to counter emerging threats and keep ahead of our enemies.”

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

Take those with a grain of salt. The stealth features of the F-35 are going to be impressive. It will probably be better than the F-22 and B-2, and that's the passive side of things.

There are reasons that the F-35 must go through, beyond the obvious. Reasons I can't go into here. The Chinese are going to be a lot of benefit from the F-35 spying program, but there is quite a bit they didn't get, and won't get as well.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Have you been involved in any of the F35 development? Are you employed by Lockheed Martin / USAF / Government agency?

If I recall from another thread you used to be a plane tech or commercial pilot?