A F-35B fighter jet assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 (Reinforced) lands aboard amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (US Navy).
UPDATED 10/2/23 at 9:28 am with comment from Lockheed Martin.
WASHINGTON — A series of delayed simulated combat trials for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have been completed, a key step toward wrapping up the fighter’s initial operational testing phase and approving it for full-rate production (FRP).
The 64 combat trials, known as runs-for-score, were completed Sept. 21, F-35 Joint Program Office spokesman Russ Goemaere told Breaking Defense today. Goemaere deferred questions about the results to the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), which did not immediately return a request for comment.
While over 900 F-35s have been produced, the program has technically been stuck in its initial operational testing phase — and low-rate initial production — for years over the delayed completion of the trials, whose results DOT&E officials intend to use to support a full-rate production decision. The delays stemmed from technical issues and pandemic challenges impacting the program’s virtual Joint Simulation Environment (JSE), which hosts the combat trials for the tri-variant stealth fighter. Compared to an original plan outlined in 2012, the program formally entered the operational testing phase over a year late in 2018 and previously expected to achieve FRP at the end of 2019.
The FRP decision must be based on the results verified by DOT&E, which Air & Space Forces magazine previously reported is expected early next year. While a milestone for the program, achieving FRP is likely to have little influence on the fighter’s actual production rate, which has already hit a ceiling that some experts say is too low to accommodate a backlog of orders.
Following publication of this article, on Monday Lockheed Martin told Breaking Defense in a statement that the JSE “is a U.S. Government-led initiative that allows operators to complete tests under conditions that include those that cannot be replicated on open air ranges. Lockheed Martin’s role was to work with NAVAIR [Naval Air Systems Command] to integrate digital models of the F-35, supporting the successful Runs for Score. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Joint Program Office and JSE teams.”
Separately, results from the trial could show the need for retrofits to address possible shortcomings in the combat scenarios. Already, concurrent development has created some 14 different versions of the aircraft, a recent watchdog report found.
Earlier this month, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall was asked whether he envisioned such changes being necessary based on the JSE results, Kendall, who once described the F-35 production plan as “acquisition malpractice,” praised the F-35 in response.
“I gotta tell you, the F-35 is a fantastic fighter. It is light years ahead of fourth-generation aircraft. And the results that we’re getting with people who have been through the JSE and been trained are quite good in terms of their aerial performance against the threat. So I’m pretty confident in this system,” he told reporters.
Head of Air Combat Command Gen. Mark Kelly also recently talked up the system’s performance when queried about the JSE, though he did not directly address whether he thought retrofits might be needed based on runs-for-score results.
“I have really high confidence in [the] JSE,” Kelly said during a separate press briefing. “It’s proven to be very accurate, so… I’m confident, not positive,” he added. “I’m really confident that they will garner out of that the lessons they need on Chinese/Russian IADS [integrated air defense systems].”