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F-35A “Franken-bird”
Airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah, completed a lengthy project to restore a single F-35A Lightning II from two separate, damaged aircraft, and begin its return to combat status.
As told by Micah Garbarino, 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, and Todd Cromar, 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs in a USAF news release, this is the first time maintainers have successfully pieced together two F-35A structures to generate an operational aircraft.
One of the aircraft was damaged in a nose-gear collapse here in 2020, the other in an engine fire at Eglin AFB, Fla., in 2014.
Locally known as the “Franken-bird,” the project was an interagency effort between the F-35 Joint Program Office, Ogden Air Logistics Complex, 388th Fighter Wing and Lockheed Martin.
During the project, the team at Hill created unique tooling, stands and other equipment to support and join the aircraft sections. That work was done at the Ogden Air Logistics Complex before the jet was returned to the 388th FW in November 2023.
The resources and techniques pioneered during that stage of the project have potential for future use in aircraft battle damage repair at forward locations, said Scott Taylor, Lockheed Martin’s lead mechanical engineer on the project.
For the past year, the aircraft has been hangared in the 4th Fighter Generation Squadron, where maintainers worked on the final stages of its restoration.
“When we received the aircraft, it was pretty much a shell,” said Senior Airman Jaguar Arnold, the aircraft’s dedicated crew chief from the 4th FGS. “There were a lot of tasks to complete that we hadn’t done before at the unit level.”
Many first-time tasks at the field level
From re-installing landing gear with the proper aircraft center of gravity, to procuring and installing “belly bands” and flight controls, Arnold said. The team, alongside Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians, rewired the aircraft, rebuilt the cockpit, avionics computers and installed a variety of components rarely seen in flight line maintenance shops.
Airmen also fabricated and installed components and coatings to refurbish the low-observable properties on various sections of the jet.
Because Airmen completed so many first-time tasks at the field level, they were able to provide feedback to the JPO that will be used to update the Joint Technical Data used by all F-35 maintainers when installing and inspecting new components. This will protect aircraft, maintainers, and pilots.
In addition to the experience and proficiency gained, the cost savings for the Air Force in salvaging an aircraft was substantial. The project is estimated to have cost under $6 million dollars, Bare said. A new F-35A is more than $80 million.
After the successful functional check flight here, the aircraft headed to Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas, for final certifications, after which it will return to Hill and be flown by the 4th Fighter Squadron.
The F-35 Lightning II
The F-35A is the US Air Force’s latest fifth-generation fighter. It will replace the US Air Force’s aging fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Thunderbolt II’s, which have been the primary fighter aircraft for more than 20 years, and bring with it an enhanced capability to survive in the advanced threat environment in which it was designed to operate. With its aerodynamic performance and advanced integrated avionics, the F-35A will provide next-generation stealth, enhanced situational awareness, and reduced vulnerability for the United States and allied nations.
Because logistics support accounts for two-thirds of an aircraft’s life cycle cost, the F-35 is designed to achieve unprecedented levels of reliability and maintainability, combined with a highly responsive support and training system linked with the latest in information technology. The Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) integrates current performance, operational parameters, current configuration, scheduled upgrades and maintenance, component history, predictive diagnostics (prognostics) and health management, operations scheduling, training, mission planning and service support for the F-35. Essentially, ALIS performs behind-the-scenes monitoring, maintenance and prognostics to support the aircraft and ensure continued health and enhance operational planning and execution.
Photo credit: Todd Cromar / U.S. Air Force
