SubscribeWhen the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) finally rolls off of the production line in 2008, it will mark yet another landmark in an amazing aviation story that has already made history in more ways than one. Once in service, the state-of-the-art single seat supersonic stealth fighter is expected to dominate the market for at least the first half of the century.
“QinetiQ involvement is focused both on providing advice directly to the MOD through the Joint Combat Aircraft integrated project team and Dstl”, explains Fiona Lewinton, who is responsible for co-ordinating QinetiQ’s work for the MOD.
“The company is also selling its expertise and technologies directly into the programme through Lockheed Martin. Naturally, the work is being carried out in full accordance with the Compliance Regime.”
Background
The US-led JSF programme was born in the early 1990s to develop a replacement for the battle-tested F-16, F-18, A10 and AV8-B aircraft.
The UK signed up as a full collaborative partner in 1995, recognising that JSF offered a possible solution for its future carrier-borne aircraft and a replacement for the short-take-off and vertical landing Sea Harrier.
In 2001, the US Department of Defense revealed that Lockheed Martin had won the prestigious contract to design and build the JSF aircraft after a much publicised ‘fly off’ with rival contractor Boeing.
Lockheed Martin’s collaborative partners are Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS while Pratt and Whitney and General Electric have been contracted to develop engines for the JSF aircraft.
Early on, the JSF Program Office took the radical step of inviting potential international customers to invest upfront to offset costs –a move prompted by the fate of previous programmes where costs spiralled out of control and requirements had to be scaled down.
“Lessons have been learned from past experiences. The JSF procurement strategy represents a complete step change in approach and one that is expected to deliver huge cost savings over the lifetime of the project”, explains Fiona.
The UK is the only level one partner in the US programme and has invested around $2 billion in the current 126 month Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase, which is costing $24 billion in total. The UK – which plans to buy 150 aircraft – will be the first export customer to receive the aircraft, which will start to arrive in Britain in 2012.
Other participating nations include Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Australia, Canada and Turkey. The benefits for all sides are clear – ensuring that the aircraft fulfils a multi-nation role and that investor nations contribute to development costs.
Cutting-edge research
Three JSF variants will be produced – a conventional take-off and landing version (F-35A), a short-take off and vertical landing (STOVL) version – (F-35B), and a carrier variant – (F-35C).
The STOVL variant had already been selected to equip the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier and JSF is now emerging as a potential candidate to meet the manned component of the MOD’s Future Offensive Air System capability to replace the Tornado GR4.
In September 2002, the JSF Program Office announced that a novel integrated flight and propulsion control system – pioneered by QinetiQ – will be implemented in the F-35B STOVL aircraft.
QinetiQ, and its predecessor organisations, have undertaken a long running programme of STOVL research with the MOD. This culminated in a three-year programme for the JSF Program Office using QinetiQ’s Vectored-thrust Aircraft Advanced Control (VAAC) Harrier, which has been configured with an experimental fly-by-wire flight control system.
“The standard Harrier is notoriously challenging to fly, which leads to considerable constraints on pilot recruitment and extra demands on training”, explains Jeremy Howitt, Technical Manager, Air Vehicle Operations at Bedford.
The Harrier flies like a conventional aircraft at high speed with the pilot controlling the throttle and the aerodynamic control surfaces. As the aircraft decelerates, the pilot must engage a third control lever that rotates the engine nozzles down and enables the transition from wing-borne to jet-borne flight. This requires simultaneous input on all three control sticks – which creates a high workload situation.
“There is also a significantly higher risk of cognitive failure”, explains Jeremy. “Pilots can accidentally operate the throttle when trying to engage the nozzle control and vice-versa –a problem that has caused crashes in the past.
“Recent research has focused on how to make STOVL aircraft as easy to fly as any other aircraft and that ’s where we came in.”
Advanced solutions
Using QinetiQ’s ‘Unified’ control concept, the VAAC cockpit controls are linked, via the experimental flight control computer, to the engine power throttle, nozzle controls and tail surface.
The flight control software automatically modulates all three controls simultaneously to maintain the speed and flight path commanded by the pilot.
This removes the need for a separate thrust-vectoring lever and allows the pilot to maintain a simple right-hand ‘up-down’ and left-hand ‘faster-slower’ control strategy throughout the whole flight envelope.
The new technology could reap huge benefits in terms of improved safety, reduced training costs, ease of operation and greater operational flexibility.
“The technology was proven during a trial aboard HMS Invincible in 2000”, says Jeremy. “The demonstration in a representative operational environment played a major role in the US decision to accept the new control laws.”
The JSF Program Office is keen to use the VAAC Harrier to further refine and optimise the control laws for the JSF requirement. QinetiQ has been asked to provide support through to the F-35B ’s debut flight in 2006. It is planned that two QinetiQ staff will spend four years working with the project team at Lockheed Martin ’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas and it is likely that other QinetiQ experts will be brought onboard as the programme progresses.
QinetiQ is also developing a system for automatic landing on an aircraft carrier, regardless of weather conditions. This autoland capability – which uses differential GPS to bring the aircraft alongside the ship – will again be developed jointly with the US with a view to incorporating it into the production F-35B.
The first land-based demonstrations have already taken place at QinetiQ’s Boscombe Down site while the first demonstration at sea is planned to take place on a Royal Navy aircraft carrier in Spring 2004.
Core expertise
The delivery of a new generation of aircraft will also demand training for the JSF pilots and maintainers. Lockheed Martin is looking to develop a ‘one size fits all’ training programme with the aim of 80 per cent commonality to help reduce long-term costs.
“The Centre for Human Sciences has unrivalled expertise in the development and assessment of training programmes and could have a vital role to play in this work”, says Jon Saltmarsh, who is leading QinetiQ’s commercial input into the JSF programme.
Apart from cost and capability, there is also the issue of interoperability, which is the third key driver for JSF.
“Interoperability issues concerned with communications, command and control and the integration of legacy processes and equipment will need to be addressed”, says Jon.
“There is no company better placed than QinetiQ to undertake this work. Our underpinning expertise and knowledge of how defence systems link together is one of our key strengths.”
Niche areas
There is also potential for QinetiQ to play into niche areas such as data fusion, pilot systems, survivability, noise reduction, materials and modelling and simulation. QinetiQ’s aerodynamics experts have already provided valuable advice to Lockheed Martin during tests carried out in wind tunnels around Europe.
QinetiQ is also looking to provide support during the aircraft acceptance process. Traditionally, the acceptance route has involved test and evaluation at Boscombe Down prior to formal military aircraft release. The JSF aircraft, by contrast, will undergo a continuous acceptance process as it is developed and the results will allow the US and UK to certify the aircraft following a joint test programme.
“This is a significant change as we’ve never accepted an aircraft in this way before and we hope to be closely involved in the US work”, says Fiona.
The aim is to resolve any critical safety issues before the aircraft goes through certification, which is expected to contribute to considerable cost savings.
In terms of project timescales, preliminary design reviews are currently being undertaken with the critical design review to follow in 2004. Fourteen flying aircraft will be assigned to the System Development and Demonstration phase with flight testing of the F-35A expected to commence in 2005 and the F-35B and C following later. Low rate initial production is due to begin in 2006 with the delivery of the first operational aircraft in 2008.
“This is the right time to input into the project. If we can get our technologies and expertise involved at this stage, we will be setting up business opportunities for the future”, explains Jon. “The programme could, potentially, create several $100 million of business for us over the lifetime of the aircraft, but we need to get in there now if we are to achieve this goal.”
