JSF Team Finishes F-35 Structural Testing Early, Begins Ground-Vibration Testing at Lockheed Martin

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter team successfully completed structural- coupling testing five days ahead of schedule on the first F-35, and moved on to the next scheduled series of ground tests. The F-35's first flight is planned for this fall.

"All of the test results were within the expected range -- an excellent indication we thoroughly understand the flight-control system and the aircraft's structural response to flight-control inputs," said Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and JSF program general manager.

The testing concluded on April 2 and measured the aircraft's structural response to specific flight-control movements. "Flight controls can move very rapidly and generate very large forces that must be passed through the aircraft structure; for every action there is a reaction," said Doug Pearson, Lockheed Martin vice president of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. "Therefore, we need to know exactly how the aircraft structure reacts to a given dynamic flight-control input."

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