Latest news with #F-35JointProgramOffice
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Air Force F-35A ‘Frankenjet' returns to the skies
An F-35A Lightning II fighter jet comprised of parts from two separate F-35A jets is returning to full service after a years-long repair, according to the F-35 Joint Program Office. The office concocted the 'Frankenjet' — which features the nose of the AF-27 grafted onto the AF-211 — to maximize taxpayer dollars and resurrect an extra operational aircraft, a release from the office said. 'The scope and complexity of this project was an exemplary demonstration of overcoming barriers and achieving a greater tier of major aircraft repair capability for an advanced tactical fighter,' said Tomas Barber, an F-35 Joint Program Office major mishap repair team engineer, in the release. The tinkering began in 2022 when the F-35 Joint Program Office collaborated with Lockheed Martin and the 388th Fighter Wing Maintenance Group to salvage two damaged jets. The AF-27 experienced an engine fire in 2014 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, while the AF-211 had a nose landing gear malfunction in 2020. F-35s to get new capabilities with summer software update Altogether, restoration took over two years and cost $11.7 million, nearly $3 million less than the expected amount. The rejiggering of parts saved the Defense Department $63 million, according to the release. The 'Frankenjet' flew out of Hill Air Force Base, Utah, for the first time on Jan. 24 on a trip to Lockheed Martin's facility in Fort Worth, Texas, where it underwent final maintenance. It officially returned to full service on March 26 and is currently assigned to the 4th Fighter Generation Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing. 'A testament to the process developed here is that the rebuilt aircraft's first flight was flown to the edges of the performance envelope, and it performed like it was fresh from the initial production line,' said Jeffrey Jensen, the F-35A variant lead. Hill Air Force Base, where the jet's rejuvenation process took place, has become a body shop for mangled jets, using the parts to train airmen and, when possible, giving the jets a second life through repairs. In 2020, mechanics at Hill reattached the wings of a damaged F-35A Lightning II — a feat completed with little precedent to rely on — and used its fuselage to train F-35 crew chiefs and maintainers in repairing combat damage, Military Times previously reported.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Air Force ‘Frankensteins' Two Wrecked Aircraft Into Working F-35
More than a year ago, the U.S. Air Force took on the unique task of taking two wrecked aircraft and Frankensteining them together into one operational F-35A Lightning II. Now, after a whole lot of weird science, it's alive! In late 2023, the F-35 Joint Program Office assembled a 'dream team' consisting of the 388th Fighter Wing, the Ogden Air Logistics Complex and Lockheed Martin. The mission: rebuild an AF-211 that lost its nose cone in 2021 using the front end of an F-35 that suffered a severe engine fire in 2014. The endeavor was affectionately called the 'Franken-bird' project. Most Read on IEN: South Carolina Law Would Prevent Purchases from In-State Auto Plant Small 3D-Printed Piece Could Save Air Force Millions in Fuel Costs Honeywell, One of the Few Remaining U.S. Industrial Conglomerates, Will Split into Three Companies PODCAST: Master Lock Leaves; GM's Quick Caddy; Bridgestone Plant Closes Scott Taylor, a lead mechanical engineer at Lockheed Martin, said his team was already looking into feasibility since it has already pulled off a restoration project on an F-22 with significant damage. But this was the first time trying something like this with an F-35. 'All of the aircraft sections can be de-mated and re-mated theoretically, but it's just never been done before,' Taylor told the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. 'This is the first F-35 'Franken-bird' to date. This is history.' The work involved re-installing landing gear, rewiring the aircraft, rebuilding the cockpit, and installing several components that don't often pop up in flight line maintenance shops. It involved completing several tasks that had never occurred at the field level, resulting in valuable updates to the technical data used by all F-35 maintainers. On top of all that new proficiency, the project is estimated to have cost under $6 million dollars, way less than the typical $80 million shelled out for a new F-35A. After completing a successful functional flight, the 'Franken-bird' is off to Texas for final certifications before returning to service. Click here to subscribe to our daily newsletter featuring breaking manufacturing industry news.
