F-35: Audit of accounts, Marine ready for final inspection

The pilots have carried out one hundred take-offs and landings and more than eighty departures in total safety.

The team that performed the tests was formed by 150 marine from the 22 Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron based in New River, from the Marine Fighter Squadron 121 based in Yuma, from the Marine Fighter Squadron 501 based in Beaufort and from the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13 and 31.

Four F-35Bs from the VMFA-121 and two from the VMFAT-501 took part in operational tests with ten qualified Marine Corps pilots who accumulated 76 total flight hours on the JSF.

Specifically, during the two weeks, the Marines tested the platform by performing takeoffs and landings day and night, established the reliability of the 2B management software and confirmed the interoperability of the network communications between the aircraft and the ship.

The F-35B has demonstrated the feasibility of all maintenance, logistics and equipment operations on board the Wasp. In addition to operational tests, in fact, it was essential to demonstrate the compatibility of the aircraft with the Marine Corps war component as well as the ability to logistically support the fighter on board an amphibious vessel.

Among the operations carried out during the OT-1, also the transport of a power module of the F135 (the heaviest part of the engine) by an MV-22 Osprey. The module was specifically designed to be airborne. The integration between the two systems was considered fundamental for the entire F-35 program.

The V-22 fleet will guarantee 'depth' in every theater where the Lightning II will be engaged.

Another aspect that distinguished the operational tests was the involvement of the United Kingdom. Military of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force attended the flight operations. Information deemed essential to make changes to the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier (of the two planned, only one is currently confirmed).

Each Queen Elizabeth should carry 40 F-35. Once the tests have been completed, for the F-35 to enter into service with Initial Operational Capacity only one last step is called 'ORI' or Operational Readiness Inspection - Final Operational Readiness Inspection.

The team, composed exclusively of Marine, will mark the beginning or end of the most expensive program in the history of the Pentagon. The 'ORI' team will begin the inspection in less than two weeks. The final report will be delivered to the Marine Corps commander, Lieutenant General Jon Davis, who will have the final word on the program (for what concerns the Marines).

Although it is not up to a single body to certify the Initial Operating Capacity of a weapon system, the Marines have no intention of adopting a machine that cannot meet their requirements.

It will be my Marines - said General Davis - to test the fighter.

Unlike the V-22 Osprey that the Marines deployed in Iraq immediately after the 'IOC', the F-35 will not go to war with the Islamic State.

Should the outcome of the inspection correspond to the needs of the Marines, the F-35B will enter into service (and in the history of aviation) the next 15 July with Initial Operating Capacity. But everything depends on the 'ORI'.

The Marines - explains Davis - will carry out a series of evaluations, they do not have a pre-established time limit. If they were to complete all operational readiness tests by July, then we could also declare the CIO within that month, otherwise it will be for the next one. To us - concluded Davis - we are interested in having a platform capable of fulfilling every type of mission.

We are therefore in a very delicate transition phase for what could become the first 'Warfighting' version of the platform.

If the F-35B were to enter service on a regular basis, the first VMFA-121 squadron will be transferred to the Iwakuni base in Japan in January of 2017 to respond to possible crises in the region. But before any kind of forecast, the Marine Corps reserves a specific inspection.

The Pentagon has already given the green light for the entry into service of the F-35B. Lockheed delivered 33 of the 340 F-35Bs purchased by the Marine Corps as well as 80 F-35Cs to be deployed on aircraft carriers. By July, the Marines will have more than fifty F-35 licensed pilots and more than 400 maintenance servicemen.

According to the Marine Corps Aviation Plan, the F-35 will replace the entire EA-6B Prowler fleet within the 2019 and will displace the AV-8B Harrier from the 2026. Finally, the F-35 will detect the beloved F / A-18 Hornet in the 2030.

The Air Force will reach F-35A's Initial Operational Capacity as soon as the first 12-24 aircraft squadron has been formed, with trained aviators and crews capable of carrying out close, suspended, and suppressed air support missions and destruction of enemy anti-aircraft defenses. The F-35A will reach Initial Operational Capacity between August and December of the 2016.

Finally, the US Navy, equipped with the F-35C, will reach the Initial Operational Capacity as soon as the first squadron composed of 10 aircraft has been formed, with personnel and navy pilots trained and able to carry out the assigned missions. The F-35C will reach the Initial Operational Capacity between August 2018 and February 2019.

The 55 years of life of the F-35 hunt will cost US $ 1500 billions of dollars.

In addition to the United States, hunting has been ordered from Great Britain, Australia, Italy, Turkey, Norway, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea and Israel.

Franco Iacch

(photo: Lockheed Martin / USMC)