Successor to the Harrier, the F-35B is the short-take-off/vertical-landing (STOVL) variant of Lockheed Martin's next generation of supersonic fighter jet. Faster, easier to manoeuvre, and engineered for optimum stealth, it's due to enter service in 2016. The Rolls-Royce LiftSystem is the UK-engineered technology behind its vertical gymnastics: it holds the 25-tonne jet in the air with 186kN of vertical thrust and controls its drop from the sky.
How it works Where typical fighters require around 900m of runway, the F-35B needs just 91.5m. First the engine faces backwards to pick up horizontal speed, and at 41m/s the exhaust nozzle turns downwards and aids the lift-fan in pushing the plane up into the air. For vertical landings, the engine throttles backwards, before driving 28,000bhp to the lift-fan and exhaust nozzle, with roll posts keeping the plane level in its descent.
1. Exhaust nozzle
In flight, air is deflected through the exhaust nozzle horizontally. To aid vertical lift for take-offs and landings, the swivel duct rotates the nozzle near-vertically.
2. Roll posts
With no forward momentum, the plane must be stabilised around its rolling axis in its vertical descent. The roll posts are supplied with engine fan air to provide a further 17kN of thrust.
3. Lift fan
Door hatches at the top and bottom of the aircraft, just behind the pilot, open to expose the vertical lift-fan. Driven by the engine, the 1.3m-diameter fan is capable of generating 89kN of thrust.
4. Stealth
A lightweight titanium and carbon-fibre frame ensures maximum stealth. Head-on, the F-35B has a radar cross-section of 0.0015m squared: to enemy radar, it appears the size of a golf ball.
5. Cockpit controls
The cockpit is kitted out with touch-screen displays, 1Gbps data interfaces and voice-command controls. For landing, the controls change functions automatically.
6. Distributed Aperture System Six electro-optical sensors combine radio frequency and infrared to provide the pilot with 360° missile warnings, fed into a helmet-fitted display.
7. Radar The radar antenna consists of hundreds of small transmit/ receive modules. This allows long- range detection and tracking of multiple targets at once, and high- resolution mapping.
The downturn in detail The exhaust rotates in the less than two seconds, generating up to 80kN of thrust. Roll-post thrust is constantly and automatically adjusted by cockpit computers.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
