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F-35 Lightning II Completes DT-III Aboard USS George Washington

F-35 Lightning II Pax River ITF

Aug. 28, 2016 | 3:55

In 2016, the F-35 Lightning II Pax River Integrated Test Force (ITF), completed its third and final phase of developmental test (DT-III) of the F-35C Lightning II carrier variant aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) — one week ahead of schedule. During the detachment, 12 Navy F-35C fleet pilots from the Grim Reapers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 101 based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida joined the four Navy F-35 test pilots and one Marine Corps F-35 test pilot assigned to the Salty Dogs of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 for CQ aboard CVN 73. The two squadrons completed the joint CQ of all 17 pilots in a record time of one day and a half, starting Aug. 14. The VFA-101 pilots made naval aviation history by achieving the fleet’s first-ever F-35C CQ, recording a 100 percent boarding rate for all of its pilots, and tallying 120 catapult launches, 120 arrested landings, and zero bolters. During CQ, all pilots relied on the revolutionary F-35 Delta Flight Path (DFP) approach mode— a close cousin of the Maritime Augmented Guidance with Integrated Controls for Carrier Approach and Recovery Precision Enabling Technologies (MAGIC CARPET) approach mode developed by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) for the F/A-18 Super Hornet. During the shipboard detachment, the Pax River ITF showcased their trademark test efficiency and effectiveness by completing 100 percent of the 613 required DT-III test points during 41 flights that logged 39.7 flight hours over the course of 10 days of testing. Their flight test operations — which capitalized on a broad spectrum of weather conditions and the robust health and reliability of both DT-III aircraft — featured 121 catapults, 70 touch and go landings, one bolter, and 121 arrestments. Testing included launch and recovery of aircraft with external stores, approach handling qualities with symmetric and asymmetric external stores, DFP testing, Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) testing, crosswind and maximum weight launches, MIL/MAX power launches, night operations with the Gen III Helmet Mounted Display (HMD), and Logistical Test and Evaluation (LT&E).