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| Science & Technology |
| Supersonic speeds could cause big problems for the F-35′s (and Chevy Silverado's) stealth coating |
| 2019-06-13 |
| [Defense News] WASHINGTON ‐ At extremely high altitudes, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ versions of the F-35 jet can only fly at supersonic speeds for short bursts of time before there is a risk of structural damage and loss of stealth capability, a problem that may make it impossible for the Navy’s F-35C to conduct supersonic intercepts. The Defense Department does not intend to field a fix for the problem, which influences not only the F-35’s airframe and the low-observable coating that keeps it stealthy, but also the myriad antennas located on the back of the plane that are currently vulnerable to damage, according to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News. The F-35 Joint Program Office has classified the issues for the "B" and "C" models as separate category 1 deficiencies, indicating in one document that the problem presents a challenge to accomplishing one of the key missions of the fighter jet. In this scale, category 1 represents the most serious type of deficiency. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #8 The stealth F150 doesn't manifest the problem because of it's constrained operating velocity. Rumor has it that Ford has hacked the engine software to keep the top speed under Mach 1. Something to do with EPA fleet mileage standards. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2019-06-13 12:48 |
| #7 The F150 might have that problem but not the Tesla traveling much much faster. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2019-06-13 12:23 |
| #6 The stealth F150 doesn't manifest the problem because of it's constrained operating velocity. HA! I had a used 1983 way back when that I beat the rest of the way to death on NJ fire roads. Thanks for the flashback, I haven't thought about that rattle trap in years. |
| Posted by: One Eyed Tsar 2019-06-13 10:24 |
| #5 Why altitude? My SWAG: Less atmo pressure so the afterburner cone spreads out faster. On the B, the shorter nozzle (vs A) allows the afterburner stream to overheat/overpressure the coating. On the C, the horizontal tail is longer (vs A) resulting the effect as the B. The Defense Department does not intend to field a fix for the problem It only showed one time on the B & C during testing and has not been duplicated but afterburner restrictions remain for now. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/06/12/supersonic-speeds-could-cause-big-problems-for-the-f-35s-stealth-coating/ Vice Adm. Mat Winter, who leads the F-35 program on behalf of the Pentagon, told Defense News that the department has taken steps to mitigate the problem with an improved spray-on coating, but added that the government will not completely fix it — instead accepting additional risk. As justification for the decision, Winter noted that the issue was documented while the jet was flying at the very edge of its flight envelope. He also said the phenomenon only occurred once for both the B and C models, despite numerous attempts to replicate the conditions that caused the problem. “How often do we expect something like that to occur?” he said. “It's very, very small.” Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program head, said there have been no cases of this problem occurring in the operational fleet and that incidents have been limited to the “highest extremes of flight testing conditions that are unlikely replicated in operational scenarios.” |
| Posted by: Gloger Spawn of the Gepids2733 2019-06-13 10:20 |
| #4 Hey, now! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2019-06-13 09:38 |
| #3 The stealth F150 doesn't manifest the problem because of it's constrained operating velocity. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2019-06-13 09:12 |
| #2 Likely not the coating but airframe skin vibration at speed. That would impact the external sensors as well. Why altitude? Apparently air density at lower altitudes dampens the vibration. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2019-06-13 09:10 |
| #1 The problem, of course is the coating, but the story would be it would work just fine on anything but an F-35. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2019-06-13 07:02 |