Read this one yesterday on BNN............... I still have not seen one at Lemoore................ although there has been one here.....................
NAVY WILL BEGIN THE THIRD PHASE OF JSF DEVELOPMENTAL TESTING IN AUGUST
The Navy will begin the third and final phase of Joint Strike Fighter aircraft carrier takeoff and landing tests aboard the George Washington (CVN-73) in August.
DT-3 will kickoff Aug. 3 and continue through Aug. 23, depending on inclement weather and sea states. The F-35C carrier variant will perform initial tailhook landings aboard the George Washington, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Dave Hecht wrote in a statement.
"A broad range of elements associated with carrier suitability and integration in the at-sea environment will be tested during DT-III, including day and night [carrier qualifications], Launch and Recovery with External Stores, Approach Handling Qualities with Symmetric and Asymmetric External Stores, Delta Flight Path (DFP) testing, Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) testing, Crosswind and Maximum Weight Launches, MIL/MAX Power Launches, and night operations with the Gen III Helmet Mounted Display (HMD)," Hecht wrote.
Inside the Navy reported in June that all prerequisites for DT-3 are complete and the Navy anticipates accomplishing all required test points with positive results during the August testing period.
"DT-3 will test F-35C carrier suitability and integration through a series of test events designed to gradually expand the aircraft operating envelope in the at-sea environment and further develop the aircraft launch bulletin and aircraft recovery bulletin," Navy spokesman Lt. Ben Anderson told ITN in June. "After shipboard developmental testing is complete this summer, an operational test period to evaluate ship suitability will be in early calendar year 2018." -- Lee Hudson
Cheers
Hoss
