f-35

The latest round of cutting-edge aerospace technology feels very Zen to me. Much like SpaceX's Grasshopper Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing vehicle, this Lockheed Martin F-35B jet is capable of vertical take-offs and landings and appears to hover in the air in a sort of meditative state that seems odd for a military fighter.

The first vertical take-off and landing test of the production model was successfully conducted earlier this month and captured in the official video below. … Read more

The U.S. Air Force yesterday gave the go ahead to begin "introductory" flight tests of its version of the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, a major step forward for the trillion-dollar program that, Wired reports, is expected to succeed nearly all of the Pentagon's tactical jets over the next three decades.

If you think maybe you read that number wrong, let me repeat: a trillion dollars. According to Reuters, the F-35 program is seen as a fleet of 2,443 jets over the next 50 years, a flying armada that is expected to cost $1 trillion over … Read more

The U.S. Navy said today it has demonstrated the successful integration of two of its key next-generation sea-based strike programs--the carrier version of the Joint Strike Fighter, and the all-new electromagnetic aircraft launch system.

Both the F-35C fighter and the EMALS launch technology are expected to see service eventually aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's next-generation aircraft carrier, as well as other Ford-class carriers.

The F-35C is the carrier variant of the controversial Joint Strike Fighter, a $1 trillion military program that has been the subject of cost overruns and a wide range of other problems. … Read more

The Department of Defense's $1 trillion-plus plan to build and deliver multiple versions of the Joint Strike Force (JSF) aircraft to multiple customers is behind schedule, over budget, and upside down, according to a report from the Government Accounting Office (PDF).

Upside down because the military is accelerating procurement of operational aircraft before it has even taken delivery of test units, according to the non-partisan GAO.

"Procuring large numbers of production jets while still working to deliver test jets and mature manufacturing processes does not seem prudent," the report states.

The JSF program, personified by the F-35 … Read more

The new combat helmet now being tested may become an integral part of the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, replacing the traditional jet fighter head-up display with computerized "symbology" projected directly onto the pilot's visor.

In addition to keeping pilots on top of navigation, weapons and other aircraft, the Helmet Mounted Display System will superimpose a binocular-wide field-of-view, infrared image of the world below, allowing the pilot to "look through" the cockpit floor at night. This will let a pilot turn in any direction and still be able to see a virtual heads-up display, replacing … Read more

The next U.S. Air Force maverick may be talking to her plane instead of looking at its dash for updates.

The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, which the Air Force plans to roll out in 2008, will be the first U.S. fighter to respond to voice commands, the Air Force announced Wednesday.

The Air Force Research Laboratory's Human Effectiveness Directorate has been working on the idea for some time, trying out different systems from a variety of companies.

After years of testing, it now has a speech-recognition system that works from a microphone within a pilot'… Read more