F-35A Lightning II Demo Team
This is a case of stealth making itself known in a big way… its roar during this high-speed pass rivaled the thunder of its namesake. We brought friends along with us to this year’s Wings Over Wayne (WOW 2019) Air Show at Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro, North Carolina… one noted that with this much noise, it wasn’t too stealthy. I responded to her that when its target hears that noise, it’s too late to do anything about it.
This is the F-35A Demo Team out of Luke AFB, Arizona, showing some of the capabilities of the Lightning. It is the Air Force’s latest 5th-generation stealth fighter. While it’s quite proficient at tearing up the sky, it was designed with an enhanced ability to survive in the advanced threat environment of the world today, and much what it can do will never be demonstrated at any air show… but it’s amazing.
Early in its test phase, the F-35 was determined to be quite a dud as a fighter. Tested against a 4th-generation F-16, it could barely hold its own in a mock dogfight against the Viper, but what few knew was its capabilities were reined in, much like holding a racehorse back from what it was born to do… run. There was another problem that was unforeseen… pilots of the new F-35 had all previously flown 4th-generation, and they brought with them habits that did not apply to the new system’s stunning flight characteristics. They were just figuring out they had to unlearn what they had trusted for so long flying F-15s, F-16s, and F-18s, also known as Legacy fighters, because the Lightning wasn’t just capable of making mincemeat of any adversary, it was a gamechanger with immediate power, faster response to pilot input, an incredible angle of attack (AOA), and an ability to slow to less than 100 mph rapidly while still maintaining controlled flight to rapidly swing its nose to a target. The funny thing is, that as new pilots graduate flight school without the habits of the older pilots, they’re learning more about what the Lightning can do.
All variants of the F-35, A, B, and C models all have advanced integrated avionics giving enhanced situational awareness not just to the pilots, but to every Lightning aircraft on a given mission… what one knows, they all know. Red Flag is somewhat like the Air Force’s version of Navy’s Top Gun, but there’s more to it than what the movie portrays. A Marine pilot new to the program in 2016 was preparing to take off in an F-35B from Luke AFB for a Red Flag exercise… it floored him how much information it provided him from the other members of his squadron who were already airborne. He had a Gods-eye view of the fray before he even left the ground.
From a pilot’s own perspective: "You never knew I was there," he said with a smile. "You literally would never know I'm there. I flew the F-35 against other fourth-generation platforms and we killed them, and they never even saw us."
"If you were to engage an F-35 in say, a visual dogfight capability, the capabilities of the F-35 are absolutely eye-watering compared to a fourth-generation fighter. So if it's a long-range contact, you'll never see me and you'll die, and if it's within visual-range contact you'll see me and you're gonna die and you're gonna die very quickly."
"I can tell you that it is by far the best platform I've ever flown in my entire life, and at that, you would have to take me on my word."
– Maj. Gen. Scott Pleus, former CO of 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB. 24 years flying the F-16.
Makes me proud of my own involvement as an airman of the U.S. Air Force.
F-35A Lightning II Demo Team
This is a case of stealth making itself known in a big way… its roar during this high-speed pass rivaled the thunder of its namesake. We brought friends along with us to this year’s Wings Over Wayne (WOW 2019) Air Show at Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro, North Carolina… one noted that with this much noise, it wasn’t too stealthy. I responded to her that when its target hears that noise, it’s too late to do anything about it.
This is the F-35A Demo Team out of Luke AFB, Arizona, showing some of the capabilities of the Lightning. It is the Air Force’s latest 5th-generation stealth fighter. While it’s quite proficient at tearing up the sky, it was designed with an enhanced ability to survive in the advanced threat environment of the world today, and much what it can do will never be demonstrated at any air show… but it’s amazing.
Early in its test phase, the F-35 was determined to be quite a dud as a fighter. Tested against a 4th-generation F-16, it could barely hold its own in a mock dogfight against the Viper, but what few knew was its capabilities were reined in, much like holding a racehorse back from what it was born to do… run. There was another problem that was unforeseen… pilots of the new F-35 had all previously flown 4th-generation, and they brought with them habits that did not apply to the new system’s stunning flight characteristics. They were just figuring out they had to unlearn what they had trusted for so long flying F-15s, F-16s, and F-18s, also known as Legacy fighters, because the Lightning wasn’t just capable of making mincemeat of any adversary, it was a gamechanger with immediate power, faster response to pilot input, an incredible angle of attack (AOA), and an ability to slow to less than 100 mph rapidly while still maintaining controlled flight to rapidly swing its nose to a target. The funny thing is, that as new pilots graduate flight school without the habits of the older pilots, they’re learning more about what the Lightning can do.
All variants of the F-35, A, B, and C models all have advanced integrated avionics giving enhanced situational awareness not just to the pilots, but to every Lightning aircraft on a given mission… what one knows, they all know. Red Flag is somewhat like the Air Force’s version of Navy’s Top Gun, but there’s more to it than what the movie portrays. A Marine pilot new to the program in 2016 was preparing to take off in an F-35B from Luke AFB for a Red Flag exercise… it floored him how much information it provided him from the other members of his squadron who were already airborne. He had a Gods-eye view of the fray before he even left the ground.
From a pilot’s own perspective: "You never knew I was there," he said with a smile. "You literally would never know I'm there. I flew the F-35 against other fourth-generation platforms and we killed them, and they never even saw us."
"If you were to engage an F-35 in say, a visual dogfight capability, the capabilities of the F-35 are absolutely eye-watering compared to a fourth-generation fighter. So if it's a long-range contact, you'll never see me and you'll die, and if it's within visual-range contact you'll see me and you're gonna die and you're gonna die very quickly."
"I can tell you that it is by far the best platform I've ever flown in my entire life, and at that, you would have to take me on my word."
– Maj. Gen. Scott Pleus, former CO of 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB. 24 years flying the F-16.
Makes me proud of my own involvement as an airman of the U.S. Air Force.