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67-767: The F119 is also the basis for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) propulsion system, with variants powering both the Boeing X-32 and Lockheed Martin X-35 concept demonstrators. The X-35 won the JSF competition and the production Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is powered by an F119 derivative, the Pratt & Whitney F135 which produces up to 43,000 lbf (191 kN) of thrust. The F119 resulted from

134-419: A competitive advantage was to offer substantially lower manufacturing and life-cycle costs by minimizing variations between the different JSF versions. The X-32 therefore was designed around a large one piece carbon fiber composite delta wing . The wing had a span of 9.15 meters, with a 55-degree leading edge sweep, and could hold up to 20,000 pounds (9,000 kg) of fuel. The purpose of the high sweep angle

201-719: A complement to the F-22 Raptor . The Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program was created in 1993, implementing one of the recommendations of a United States Department of Defense (DoD) "Bottom-Up Review to include the United States Navy in the Common Strike Fighter program." The review also led the Pentagon to continue the F-22 Raptor and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet programs, cancel

268-572: A constant engine match, facilitated by the control system algorithm maintaining a fixed total nozzle effective area. Thus the engine was unaware of various nozzles being opened up and closed off to complete the transition. The F119-PW-614S was a direct lift engine, whereas the Lockheed Martin STOVL team used a more complex and riskier alternative, known as the F119-PW-611, which comprised a remote shaft-driven lift fan powered by

335-546: A design life of 8,650 total accumulated cycles, with inspection and overhaul of the hot section approximately every 2,000 hours and the cold section every 4,000 hours. While the production F119 on the F-22 incorporates rectangular thrust vectoring nozzles, prototype variants on other aircraft had different nozzle solutions that are tailored to the airframe. The YF119 on the YF-23 had a single-expansion ramp nozzle (SERN) consisting of

402-521: A minor hydraulic leak was discovered and the flight was shortened to 20 minutes from the expected 30–40 minutes. According to Knox, the F/A-18 chase plane required "a lot of afterburner" to keep up with the X-32 during the initial stages. During the flight, the aircraft reached 10,000 feet (3,000 m), attained a speed of 200 knots (370 km/h; 230 mph), and attained an angle of attack of 13°. Despite

469-573: A result of these media reports, then Australian defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon requested a formal briefing from the Australian Department of Defence on the simulation. This briefing stated that the reports of the simulation were inaccurate and that it did not compare the F-35's performance against that of other aircraft. Andrew Hoehn, Director of RAND Project Air Force, made the following statement: "Recently, articles have appeared in

536-490: A variable wedge flap on the top and a fixed ramp on the bottom, which then transitions to a trench on top of the aft fuselage. While the SERN lacked thrust vectoring capability, it allowed the exhaust to be further cooled in the trenches, significantly reducing infrared signature when viewed from below the aircraft; the trenches in the aft deck were lined with tiles that were " transpiration cooled " from engine bleed air to withstand

603-669: Is a development and acquisition program intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter , strike , and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and formerly Turkey. After a competition between the Boeing X-32 and the Lockheed Martin X-35 , the latter aircraft was selected for a contract award and developed into

670-701: The Common Affordable Lightweight Fighter project (CALF). The project's purpose was to develop a stealth-enabled design to replace all of United States Department of Defense lighter weight fighter and attack aircraft, including the F-16 Fighting Falcon , McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet , and vertical/short takeoff / vertical landing ( V/STOL ) AV-8B Harrier II . Around the same time, the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) project

737-695: The F-16 Agile Falcon in the late 1980s, essentially an enlarged F-16, and continued to mull other designs. In 1992, the Marine Corps and Air Force agreed to jointly develop the Common Affordable Lightweight Fighter, which continued development efforts under ASTOVL. CALF project was chosen after Paul Bevilaqua persuaded the Air Force that his team's concept (if stripped of its lift system ) had potential as

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804-639: The F-35 Lightning II , which will replace various tactical aircraft, including the US F-16 , A-10 , F/A-18A-D , AV-8B , EA-6B and British Harrier GR7, GR9s and Tornado GR4 . The projected average annual cost of the program is $ 12.5 billion in 2012 with an estimated cost in 2024 of $ 2 trillion over its lifespan. The JSF program was the result of the merger of the Common Affordable Lightweight Fighter (CALF) and Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) projects. The merged project continued under

871-850: The Future Carrier Borne Aircraft project. This program sought a replacement for the Sea Harrier (and later the Harrier GR7 ); the Joint Strike Fighter was selected in January 2001. During concept definition, two Lockheed Martin airplanes were flight-tested: the X-35A (which was later converted into the X-35B), and the larger-winged X-35C. Arguably the most persuasive demonstration of the X-35's capability

938-428: The data into China's Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang FC-31 fighters. On February 1, 2010, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced that, due to delays and other problems with the JSF development program, he was removing Major General David R. Heinz from command of the program and would withhold $ 614 million in bonuses from Lockheed Martin. On February 16, 2010, Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn announced that

1005-566: The -614C engine, known as the F119-PW-614S, powered the STOVL aircraft. In normal flight, the -614S was configured as a conventional afterburning turbofan. However, in the STOVL mode a butterfly valve diverted the core stream exhaust gases to a pair of thrust vectoring nozzles located close to the aircraft's center-of-gravity. Forward of these nozzles, a jet screen nozzle provided a sheet of cool bypass air to minimise hot gas recirculation. There

1072-721: The 30,000 lbf (133 kN) class for an aircraft gross weight of 50,000 lb (22,700 kg). Pratt & Whitney and General Electric were selected to make prototype engines, designated YF119 and YF120 respectively, for demonstration and validation (Dem/Val). Both engine makers would provide engines for both the Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22 and the Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 ATF technology and flight demonstrators. The ATF's increasing weight during development required more thrust to meet

1139-515: The ATF's demanding requirements for supercruise, the PW5000 design has low bypass ratio, high core and turbine inlet temperatures, and a fully variable convergent-divergent nozzle to achieve high specific thrust in intermediate, or non-afterburning power. The combustor, internally named Floatwall, eliminated welds to mitigate crack growth due to thermal cycling. The original RFP called for maximum thrust in

1206-652: The Advanced Turbine Engine Gas Generator (ATEGG) and the Joint Technology Demonstration Engine (JTDE) programs, allowed the design to do more work with fewer stages, with the PW5000's compressor having only 6 stages compared to the 10 stages in the F100 's compressor. The high pressure and low pressure turbines were single stage and counter-rotating, which reduced the gyroscopic forces on the engine; it

1273-504: The Air Force's Multi-Role Fighter (MRF) and the Navy's Advanced Attack/Fighter (A/F-X) programs, and curtail F-16 and F/A-18C/D procurement. The JAST program office was established on 27 January 1994 to develop aircraft , weapons , and sensor technology with the aim of replacing several disparate US and UK aircraft with a single family of aircraft; the majority of those produced would replace F-16s. Merrill McPeak , former Chief of Staff of

1340-630: The Australian press with assertions regarding a war game in which analysts from the RAND Corporation were involved. Those reports are not accurate. RAND did not present any analysis at the war game relating to the performance of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, nor did the game attempt detailed adjudication of air-to-air combat. Neither the game nor the assessments by RAND in support of the game undertook any comparison of

1407-854: The Concept Demonstration phase with an investment of US$ 10 million. This investment allowed Canada to participate in the extensive and rigorous competitive process where Boeing and Lockheed Martin developed and competed their prototype aircraft. Studies supporting JAST/JSF started in 1993 and led to STOVL submissions to the DOD by McDonnell Douglas , Northrop , Lockheed and Boeing : Two contracts to develop prototypes were awarded on November 16, 1996, one each to Lockheed Martin and Boeing . Each firm would produce two aircraft to demonstrate conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), carrier takeoff and landing (CV version), and short takeoff and vertical landing ( STOVL ). McDonnell Douglas ' bid

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1474-730: The Conservatives declared that the total cost over 20 years would be $ 16 billion. On 19 October 2015 the Liberal Party of Canada under Justin Trudeau won a majority in part on a campaign promise to not purchase the F-35, but instead "one of the many, lower-priced options that better match Canada's defence needs". Concerns about the F-35's performance have resulted partially from reports of simulations by RAND Corporation in which three regiments of Chinese Sukhoi Su-27 fighters defeat six F-22s by denying tanker refueling. As

1541-819: The F119 Heavy Maintenance Center (HMC) at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma in the first F119 depot overhaul. Turbine engine advances from ATEGG and JTDE continued with the Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology (IHPTET) program, with applications in F119 improvement packages and derivatives. Prototype YF119 variants powered the Boeing X-32 and Lockheed Martin X-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) concept demonstrator aircraft, and subsequent full scale development of

1608-583: The F119 derivative resulted in the F135 family of engines that powers the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II . The F119 is a twin-spool axial-flow low-bypass turbofan. It has a three-stage fan driven by a single-stage low pressure turbine and six-stage high pressure compressor driven by single-stage high pressure turbine. The shroud-less fan has wide-chord, low aspect ratio hollow titanium fan blades that are linear-friction welded to

1675-498: The F119-PW-100 in order to achieve high specific thrust . The F119 has dual-redundant full authority digital engine control ( FADEC ), also referred to internally as Digital Electronic Engine Control (DEEC), supplied by Hamilton Standard and fully integrated into the F-22's vehicle management system, making the engine highly reliable, stall-resistant, and forgiving of rapid throttle inputs. The three-zone (reduced from four from

1742-542: The General Electric's variable cycle YF120, Pratt & Whitney accrued far greater test hours and emphasized reliability and the lower risk. Ground tests of the F119-PW-100 were first conducted in February 1993. The production engines were fitted on the production F-22 , and were first flown on the F-22's maiden flight on 7 September 1997. A total of 507 engines were produced. In 2013 Pratt & Whitney assisted

1809-631: The JAST name until the engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) phase, during which the project became the Joint Strike Fighter. The CALF was a DARPA program to develop a STOVL strike fighter (SSF), originally under the Advanced Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) project, for the United States Marine Corps and replacement for the F-16 Fighting Falcon . The United States Air Force passed over

1876-536: The JSF program has led to a more conservative and open-ended Future Vertical Lift program. Boeing X-32 The Boeing X-32 is a concept demonstrator aircraft that was designed for the Joint Strike Fighter competition . It lost to the Lockheed Martin X-35 demonstrator, which was further developed into the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II . In 1993, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched

1943-608: The Joint Advanced Fighter Engine (JAFE) program in the early 1980s aimed at supplying the powerplant for the Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF). Detailed design of Pratt & Whitney's submission, designated internally as PW5000, began when the request for proposals (RFP) for JAFE, later renamed the ATF Engine (ATFE) program, was released in May 1983. Advances in engine technology, such as those from

2010-642: The Lockheed Martin X-35 concept demonstrator aircraft were capable of transitioning between their STOVL and supersonic configurations in mid-flight. The first flight of the X-32A (designed for CTOL and carrier trials) took place on 18 September 2000, from Boeing's Palmdale plant to Edwards Air Force Base . The aircraft, piloted by Boeing test pilot Fred Knox, took 2,200 feet (670 m) of runway before becoming airborne at 150 knots (280 km/h; 170 mph) at around 8:00 am. Shortly after takeoff,

2077-487: The Lockheed entry looked like, if anything, a smaller version of the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter. Yet another effect of the selection of the direct-lift system was the large chin-mounted air intake. This was required to feed sufficient air to the main engine (to provide the thrust necessary to hover) during the zero horizontal velocity phase, when it could not exploit ram-air pressure. A knock-on effect of this large intake

Pratt & Whitney F119 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2144-583: The UK Minister of Defence Procurement, said the X-35 consistently outperformed the X-32, although both met or exceeded requirements. The development of the JSF was jointly funded by the United States , United Kingdom , Italy , the Netherlands , Canada , Turkey , Australia , Norway and Denmark . In July 2019 United States removed Turkey from the Joint Strike Fighter program, following

2211-535: The US would buy a total of 2,443 JSFs. In April 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that computer spies, allegedly Chinese but acknowledged to be from uncertain sources, had penetrated the database and acquired terabytes of secret information about the fighter, possibly compromising its future effectiveness. The state-run Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has been alleged to incorporate

2278-591: The United States Air Force, has complained that Defense Secretary Les Aspin 's decision to force all three services to use a single airframe greatly increased the costs and difficulty of the project. In November 1995, the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding to become a formal partner, and agreed to pay $ 200 million, or 10% of the concept demonstration phase. In 1997, Canada 's Department of National Defence signed on to

2345-438: The X-32A commenced low- and medium-speed taxi tests, which had been completed by late May. Due to the heavy delta wing design of the X-32, Boeing demonstrated STOVL and supersonic flight in separate configurations, with the STOVL configuration requiring that some parts be removed from the fighter. The company promised that their conventional tail design for production models would not require separate configurations. By contrast,

2412-563: The X-32A was expected to make an appearance, the roll out of the X-32B was a surprise, as construction of the latter aircraft had started some three months after the former and was completed six weeks after the X-32A. Boeing attributed the rapid construction of the STOVL version to the use of digital design and assembly methods. After having the Pratt & Whitney F119 engine installed in April 2000,

2479-591: The addition of a thrust vectoring module around the main engine. However, this choice required the engine to be mounted directly behind the cockpit, and moved the center of gravity forward from its usual position in jet fighters (towards the rear of the airplane) to enable a neutral-attitude hover. Boeing had proposed, in the 1960s, a similar supersonic fighter with a mid-center-of-gravity mounted engine with vectored thrust nozzles, but this never proceeded beyond pictures published in Aviation Week . By comparison,

2546-544: The awarding of the contract, many lawmakers pushed the idea of retaining the losing competitor as a sub-contractor; however, the "winner takes all" principle was not changed. Nonetheless, Boeing views its work on the X-32 as a strategic investment, yielding important technologies which it has been able to adopt in the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and other studies. In 2005, the Boeing X-32A

2613-420: The clean burning of the fuel and reduced NOx generation. Within the turbine exhaust case, the high-pressure turbine blades are made of single-crystal superalloys and impingement cooled using air from the high-pressure compressor. The high and low pressure spools are counter-rotating. The requirement for the ATF to supercruise, or fly supersonic without afterburners, results in a very low bypass ratio of 0.30 for

2680-488: The contract, these fighters were required to demonstrate conventional take-off and landing (CTOL), carrier take-off and landing (CV version), and short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL). They were also expected to include ground demonstrations of a production representative aircraft's systems, such as the Preferred Weapon System Concept (PWSC). One major departure from previous projects was

2747-477: The country's acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system . Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35 Lightning II jets. Lockheed Martin 's X-35 would become the basis of the F-35 Lightning II , currently in production and service; Pratt & Whitney 's YF119-PW-611 would be the basis for the F135 -PW-600 on the production F-35B. On April 6, 2009, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that

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2814-406: The disks to form single-piece integrally-bladed rotors (IBRs), or blisks. The fan and compressor stators and thrust-vectoring nozzle use a burn-resistant titanium alloy called Alloy C, with the first row of vanes variable in order to increase stall and surge margin. The Floatwall annular combustor is lined with high-cobalt material for oxidation resistance and combustion chamber durability, and ensures

2881-495: The exhaust plume and facilitating its mixing with ambient air through shed vortices. The F119 places a high emphasis on human systems integration ; features that facilitate engine maintenance and servicing include modular design such as an axially split case, color-coded cables and harnesses, and a reduction of the number of hand tools required for servicing to just five. Most components are one-deep and servicing can be conducted while wearing hazmat protective clothing. The engine has

2948-477: The fighting qualities of particular fighter aircraft." Furthermore, Maj. Richard Koch, chief of USAF Air Combat Command's advanced air dominance branch is reported to have said that "I wake up in a cold sweat at the thought of the F-35 going in with only two air-dominance weapons" with an Aviation Week article casting an extremely skeptical eye over the (USAF) source of claims that the F-35 would be "400% more effective" than projected opponents. The experience of

3015-563: The heat of the exhaust. The specialized YF119 variants on the X-32 and X-35 had provisions for short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) operations. The YF119-PW-614 on the X-32 had a pitch-axis thrust vectoring nozzle and valves can redirect the engine exhaust and bleed air to provide direct lift, similar to the Pegasus engine on the Harrier . In contrast, YF119-PW-611 on the X-35 had a round axisymmetric nozzle that can swivel downwards while

3082-584: The low-pressure spool drives a lift fan that's engaged through a clutch; engine bypass air is also routed to roll posts for additional lift and stability. The X-35 won the JSF competition and its shaft-driven lift fan system, called LiftSystem , was fully developed by Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney for the F135-PW-600. Data from Pratt & Whitney, RAND, Aviation Week, USAF. Related development Comparable engines Related lists Joint Strike Fighter Joint Strike Fighter ( JSF )

3149-496: The main engine. However, this generated more lift thrust than possible with only direct exhaust gases. A successful design would have greater payload, and thus longer range than a simple thrust vectored turbofan . Flight testing of both companies' aircraft continued until July 2001. On 26 October 2001, the Department of Defense announced that the Lockheed Martin X-35 had won the JSF competition. The X-35 would be developed into

3216-475: The method of achieving STOVL flight, with the Department of Defense judging that the higher performance lift fan system was worth the extra risk. When near to the ground, the Boeing X-32 suffered from the problem of hot air from the exhaust circulating back to the main engine, which caused the thrust to weaken and the engine to overheat. The United States Department of Defense officials and William Bach ,

3283-488: The performance requirements; as gross weight grew to 60,000 lb (27,200 kg), the required maximum thrust was increased by 20% to 35,000 lbf (156 kN) class. Pratt & Whitney's design changed to incorporate a 15% larger fan, increasing bypass ratio from 0.25 to 0.30. However, unlike General Electric, Pratt & Whitney did not fit its larger fan on flightworthy YF119s for the ATF flight demonstrators to avoid potential reliability issues that may arise. Instead,

3350-474: The pitch axis, greatly improving the aircraft's pitch authority by augmenting the pitching moment of the tail with engine thrust; this enables the F-22 to remain controllable while flying at a trimmed alpha of over 60°. The thrust vectoring is fully integrated into the F-22's flight control system to facilitate handling. The rectangular nozzle's divergent section consists two wedge-shaped flaps for stealth and also contribute to lower infrared signature by flattening

3417-529: The production Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II . The loss of the JSF contract to Lockheed Martin in 2001 was a major blow to Boeing, as it represented the most important international fighter aircraft project since the Lightweight Fighter program competition of the 1960s and 1970s, which had led to the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet . At the time, the production run of the JSF was estimated at anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000. Prior to

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3484-463: The program will be delayed one year. According to some estimates, overruns could increase the program's total costs to $ 388 billion, a 50% increase from the initial price tag. Many of the program's financial and technical complications result from the Marine version of the JSF, capable of vertical take-offs and landings. On 11 March 2010, United States Senate Committee on Armed Services investigated

3551-542: The progress of the JSF program in a meeting with Pentagon officials, emphasizing cost due to the risk of a Nunn-McCurdy process. According to the Government Accountability Office , F-35A cost has risen from $ 50m in 2002, via $ 69m in 2007 to $ 74m in 2010, all measured in 2002 dollars. Canada reviewed their commitment to the project in December 2012, due to the cost overruns. The decision

3618-431: The prohibition of the companies from using their own money to finance development. Each was awarded $ 750 million to produce their two aircraft – including avionics, software and hardware. This limitation promoted the adoption of low cost manufacturing and assembly techniques, and also prevented either Boeing or Lockheed Martin from bankrupting themselves in an effort to win such an important contest. Boeing's strategy for

3685-477: The prototype) afterburner, or augmentor, contributes to the stealth of the aircraft by having fuel injectors integrated into thick curved vanes coated with ceramic radar-absorbent materials (RAM). These vanes replace the traditional fuel spray bars and flame holders and block line-of-sight of the turbines. The rectangular convergent-divergent nozzle is fully variable for both the convergent throat and divergent areas for high nozzle pressure ratio and can vector ±20° in

3752-489: The request of the Navy and Boeing's delta wing design fell short of the new targets. Engineers altered the aircraft's design with a conventional canted twin tail that reduced weight and improved agility, but it was too late to change the demonstrator aircraft. It was judged that they would be sufficient to demonstrate Boeing's technology. On 14 December 1999, Boeing unveiled both its concept demonstrators at its plant in Palmdale, California, in front of 5,500 attendees. While

3819-410: The revised fan was extensively ground tested at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. As a result, both the YF-22 and YF-23 had lower performance with the YF119s than with the YF120s. On 3 August 1991, Pratt & Whitney was awarded the EMD contract for ATF engine, while the Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics team won the contract for the ATF airframe. While the YF119 was a more conventional design compared to

3886-426: The shortened flight, about 80% of the planned test points were accomplished. It was powered by a conventional derivative of the F-22 afterburning turbofan, designated F119-PW-614C. On 29 March 2001, the X-32B STOVL version made its first flight. The flight lasted 50 minutes as the aircraft flew from Palmdale to Edwards AFB. The flight had originally been scheduled for the third quarter of 2000. A modified version of

3953-410: Was also a pair of ducts leading to roll nozzles near the wing tips. Two pairs of ducts fed the aft-pitch yaw nozzles and the forward-pitch nozzles. The afterburner was unlit, with no gas flow during lift. The X-32B achieved STOVL flight in much the same way as the AV-8B Harrier II with thrust vectoring of the jet exhaust. A smooth transition (between STOVL and normal modes) was obtained by maintaining

4020-404: Was hoped that counter-rotation would eliminate a row of turbine stators for a vaneless high and low pressure turbine interface, which would save weight and reduce parts count, but this was ultimately not successful and the stators were retained. The fan and compressor stages were to use integrally bladed rotors (IBR), also known as blisks, to reduce weight and cost and improve performance. Owing to

4087-493: Was made following a report by auditing firm KPMG that showed that Canada's purchase would cost C$ 45bn over 42 years. Rona Ambrose , Canada's public works minister said: “We have hit the reset button and are taking the time to do a complete assessment of all available aircraft.” Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced Canada's plan to buy the F-35 in 2010 saying that the purchase price was $ 9 billion, but did not provide operating cost estimates. During an election campaign in 2011,

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4154-419: Was rejected in part due to the complexity of its design. Lockheed Martin and Boeing were each given $ 750 million to develop their concept demonstrators and the definition of the Preferred Weapon System Concept (PWSC). The aim of this funding limit was to prevent one or both contractors from bankrupting themselves in an effort to win such an important contract. Also in 1996, the UK Ministry of Defence launched

4221-497: Was started and in 1994, the U.S. Congress ordered the two to be merged into one program under the JAST name, which was renamed the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in 1995. Many companies took part in the first phase of this project, which involved drafting concept aircraft designs for submission to the Department of Defense . On 16 November 1996, Boeing and Lockheed Martin were awarded contracts for them to produce two of their concept demonstrator aircraft (CDA) each. Under

4288-444: Was the final qualifying Joint Strike Fighter flight trials, in which the X-35B STOVL aircraft took off in less than 500 feet (150 m), went supersonic, and landed vertically – a feat that Boeing 's entry was unable to achieve. The contract for System Development and Demonstration (SDD) was awarded on 26 October 2001 to Lockheed Martin, whose X-35 beat the Boeing X-32 . One of the main reasons for this choice appears to have been

4355-427: Was the potential direct visibility of the compressor blades to radar (see radar cross-section ). Mitigation possibilities included variable baffles designed to block incoming radio waves without adversely affecting airflow. The two X-32 aircraft featured a delta wing design. However, eight months into construction of the concept demonstrator aircraft, the JSF's maneuverability and payload requirements were refined at

4422-441: Was to allow for a thick wing section to be used while still providing limited transonic aerodynamic drag , and to provide a good angle for wing-installed conformal antenna equipment. The wing would prove a challenge to fabricate. The compete-on-cost strategy also led Boeing to pick a direct-lift thrust vectoring system, for the Marines' short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) requirement, as this would only necessitate

4489-443: Was transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio . Its condition deteriorated due to being outside for several years following the end of the JSF competition. In December 2023, the museum completed a three-month-long restoration of the aircraft. On 31 May 2024, the X-32A was moved into the R&D gallery as a display, parked close to the similarly ill-fated YF-23 "Black Widow II". The X-32B

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