F-35B

 

UK Will Try To Boost F-35B Landing Weight

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE » JULY 5, 2013

by  CHRIS POCOCK

This is the second of three F-35B versions of the Joint Strike Fighter that then UK has bought to date. A further buy should be approved later this year. British pilots will conduct trials of the shipboard rolling vertical landing (SRVL) technique to enable higher landing weights. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

July 5, 2013, 12:50 PM

Senior British military officials confirmed that the UK will conduct shipboard rolling vertical landing (SRVL) trials on the F-35B version of the Lockheed Martin Lightning II stealth combat jet. The SRVL technique would allow the aircraft to land at higher weights than is currently possible in the VTOL mode. The F-35B has faced weight problems, leading to concerns that it could not “bring back” to its aircraft carrier a useful weapons load that has not been expended in combat. The British have done nearly all the previous research and simulation on SRVLs