Page 3 - Aerotech News and Review May 5 2017

F-35C targeting system guides weapon to moving target
by Christopher Ball
Edwards AFB, Calif.
The F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., re- cently performed another first-of-its- kind test when the aircraft released a laser-guided bomb against a moving target.
An F-35C being tested at Edwards released specially built GBU-12 Paveway II guided bomb over a con- trolled range at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in the California desert, successfully engaging a small pickup truck March 29, 2017.
According to engineer Collin O’Fallon of the 775th Flight Test Squadron, this F-35 weapons deliv- ery accuracy test was the first from an F-35 in the 3F software configu- ration, which has incorporated new release logic to enhance effectiveness against moving targets, with the ob- jective of reducing pilot workload. O’Fallon is matrixed to the 461st Flight Test Squadron “Deadly Jest- ers” for the testing.
“This logic is called Lead Point Compute, which in essence, delays the release point of the weapon to ensure the weapon has the available kinematics to guide to and reach the target at its future location,” O’Fallon said.
The system evaluates the speed and direction of the target against the altitude and speed of the aircraft to determine the exact release.
“The higher and faster you go, the farther you can sling the thing,” he said.
The GBU-12 is a proven weapon with many years of service on mul- tiple platforms. So these tests are designed to stress the weapon plat- form — the aircraft – rather than the weapon itself. For testing, the GBU- 12 was built up using an explosively inert warhead, and the fuze was re- placed with an inertial measurement unit to measure accelerations during employment, according to O’Fallon.
“This was really a test of the air- craft targeting system and associated weaponeering logic, and the results of this test will be used to certify this capability with a GBU-12 on the F-35.
Lockheed Martin photograph by Darin Russell
An F-35C from the 461st Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., releases a GBU-12 Paveway II guided bomb March 29, 2017. The inert bomb tracked a moving pickup truck on the ground at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California. The fifth-generation fighter was flown by Col. Scott Cain, 412th Operations Group commander.
A GBU-12 Paveway II guided bomb is about to strike a computer-driven small pickup truck during a test at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif. The inert bomb was dropped from an Edwards F-35C.
Lockheed Martin photograph
The weaponeering logic is all the information compiled to give the pi- lot that one solution.
“(The pilot) doesn’t have to think about how fast the target’s going, or what direction,” O’Fallon said. “By him using this 3F capability, it’s doing all the weaponeering for him. That’s really the big thing, it’s a single-seat fighter. He’s got to do it all, so we want to do as much for him as we can.”
Although the GBU-12 was inert, it still made short work of its intended target, a small pickup truck.
O’Fallon said the decision was that the target vehicle would be towed on a 60-foot trailer by an existing re- mote controlled tow vehicle in the
interest of saving time and money. The tow vehicle was not controlled in real time, but rather the route was recorded via GPS and the controlling computer drove this route maintain- ing a sterile exclusion zone.
“It’s pretty cool. The guy gets in, hits the record button. He drives the route we want. Then he hits save and
the vehicle will reset itself to its ini- tial start point,” said O’Fallon.
The whole point of the autonomous tow vehicle was safety, making sure nobody’s in the hazard zone.
“Nobody has to be in there making last-minute adjustments,” O’Fallon said.
According to O’Fallon, the data
collected from this test will certify this weapon capability and enhance the lethality of the F-35.
“This test is also the first develop- mental test release of a guided GBU- 12 from the F-35C model.”
Developmental testing here has now performed a GBU-12 release from every F-35 variant.
Lockheed Martin photograph
A GBU-12 Paveway II guided bomb engages a computer-driven small pickup truck during a test at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif., March 29, 2017. The inert bomb was dropped from an Edwards F-35C.
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