How much of the F-35 is russian tech

I know actually none of it is russian made but as far as the design goes Lockheed did buy some technology from the russian design bureau of Yakovlev.
And my question is what exactly did they buy. For what I know the lifting fan is purely Lockheed's contribute(or was it the engine manufacturer). But I'm not at all sure about anything on the subject.
Any links are also wellcome.

I am not entirely familiar with the F-35 program's links to other projects, but I think the STOVL capabaility was kind of taken from Yakovlev, specifically from the Yak-38 (I think). i know it was a Yakovlev plane that they got the idea form, not entirely sure on which one is was.

Pyotr Ufimtsev, a Soviet mathematician, wrote a paper in the mid 1960's which included the equations needed to predict an aircraft's radar cross section, and therefore it's stealthiness. So. the F-35's stealth characteristics can be, at least partially, attributed to Soviet technology.

Vorazechul,

To my knowledge, only the lobster tail STOVL nozzle (which is actually a rotating eccentric collar) is specfically 'licensed from Yakovlev'.

72.14.209.104...:nZTkKDS-oGgJ:warfare.ru/forum/viewtopic.php%3Ft%3D223%26start%3D15%26sid%3D620fca08a182e2bc5f0c03b4adc24d1c+F-35+R ussian+Yakovlev&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1

www.afa.org...

I suppose you could also rate the early gridded tails on the GBU-39 as being Russian in origin though I believe they had been worked on in the U.S. for a failed missile concept. In any case, the tails are not conventional.


KPl.

Well one thing they DIDN'T license from the Russians was the consistency for SEXINESS in the aircraft. Mikoyan Gurevich, Sukhoi, and Tupolev ALL make some sexy airplanes. F-35 ain't bad but it's a far shot from the beauty of a Su-47 or a Mikoyan Product 1.44 MFI. Just something about the drooping noses on those things that makes 'em look so sweet.

I dont think the Yak 38 let to the JSF much but the Yak 141 Freetyle must have done.



Anyone remember the Fokker VAK?

Thamks CH1466,
It all confirms what I knew but still its good to be sure it's a fact.


PS: About sexy planes the Tu-22m is one of the sexiest I've ever seen
even if it wasn't that much of a success

[edit on 26-5-2006 by vorazechul]

Originally posted by Browno
I dont think the Yak 38 let to the JSF much but the Yak 141 Freetyle must have done.



Anyone remember the Fokker VAK?

Nice picture. They also got a lot of data relating to vtol performance data for a 2 point system. Since we had no experience with this it made sense to get it from someone who did. Im sure there are things we have done that the Russians would rather purchase from us (though Im not sure they could afford to) rather than reinvent the wheel.

Orca71,

>>
Nice picture. They also got a lot of data relating to vtol performance data for a 2 point system.
>>

Actually, I recall several period ASTOVL/CALF/JAST transition articles in AvLeak and other journals on a 2/3rds scale Lockheed model with the basic shape of the F-35 but using canards that showed it either on the tarmac or suspended from a gantry type device with a spinning STOVL fan as it's sole 'working feature'.

Given their record with the Forger and the rather different nature of the L+LC high-velocity gas column as well as the subsequent erosive effects discovered in the Yak-141 (requiring a water cooled landing 'grid' as I recall) program, I wouldn't trust the Russian approach to be more than bend-iron-until-broken-then-reweld in terms of sophisticated parametric modeling.

If their initial data gathering had been 'all that' I doubt seriously if the Freestyle would have even left the drawing board.

For much the same reasons (FBW Harrier testbed) I have my doubts as to how much Warton contributed to the development of the dynamic control law system beyond 'proving the negative' inherent to the PCB work. The direct lift approach just DOES NOT equate to what the hybrid lift fan does in terms of working fluidics and fuselage entrainment effects.


KPl.

Yeah, I know about the VAK 191. Nice looking, if unsuccessful, aircraft. McDonnell Douglas should have researched it before submitting their JSF proposal. That was doomed from the beginning. Lockheed too.

To the future pilots of the STOVL F-35, may whatever Gods you worship have mercy on your souls. I refused to join the military on that point alone. I won't have anything to do with an aircraft that's more deadly to the pilots than to who their attacking. The Navy and Air Force got the sweet deal. The Marines and the RN are going to suffer heavily. If Kelly Johnson was alive, I think he'd fire everyone who pushed for that design and personally demand it be taken out of production. Skunk Works is really starting to stink.

Originally posted by TSR2005
If Kelly Johnson was alive, I think he'd fire everyone who pushed for that design and personally demand it be taken out of production. Skunk Works is really starting to stink.

...And just when was the F-35 a development of Skunk Works?
Never, that's when.

The design similarities to the F-22 are not just a coincidence. The sub-scale model (with canards) was built by Skunk Works during it's work on the JSF requirement (formerly called JAST). Such work is mentioned in the the book Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works: The Official History... by Jay Miller. And nearly all other information on it I've read makes some reference to SW. If it's not from the SW, quote your sources. I've already listed one of mine.