White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico saw the first live fire joint test of the F-35 Lightning II and Aegis Weapon System last month.
The joint Lockheed Martin, US Navy and US Marine Corps exercise was the first live fire missile event that successfully demonstrated the integration of the F-35 to support Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA).
An unmodified Marine Corps F-35B from Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 acted as an elevated sensor and detected an over-the-horizon threat. The F-35B sent data through the aircraft’s Multi-Function Advanced Data Link (MADL) to a ground station connected to the Aegis Weapon System on USS Desert Ship, a land-based ship. The target was subsequently engaged and intercepted by a Standard Missile 6.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Executive Vice President, Orlando Carvalho, said: “One of the key defining attributes of a fifth Generation fighter is the force multiplier effect it brings to joint operations through its foremost sensor fusion and external communications capabilities. Those attributes were successfully proven at White Sands Missile Range in a very realistic demonstration of distributed lethality leveraging a US Marine Corps F-35B and the US Navy’s Aegis Weapon System.
“This only scratches the surface of the potential warfighting capabilities F-35 aircraft will ultimately enable across our military forces.”
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Post written by: Julie Shennan
Features Editor of MOD DCB Magazine and MOD DSS Yearbook. Content Marketing Executive at BiP Solutions (Defence Online's sister company). Editor and founder of Artsnfaffs Online Magazine.
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