F-35C Carrier Landing Capability Questioned | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

 Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-12.08.25

AirborneNextGen-
12.09.25

Airborne-Unlimited-12.10.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-12.11.25

AirborneUnlimited-12.12.25

AFE 2025 LIVE MOSAIC Town Hall (Archived): www.airborne-live.net

Tue, Jan 17, 2012

F-35C Carrier Landing Capability Questioned

Tail Hook May Be Too Short To Snag Arresting Gear

Engineers testing the capability of the F-35C to snag an arresting cable on an aircraft carrier have come up with a stunning conclusion: the airplane may not be able to do it.

File Photo

The blog Aviationintel.com reports that the tailhook on the JSF's Navy variant is simply too short to engage the arresting wire under even ideal conditions. Roll in/roll out tests conducted by Lockheed Martin resulted in no ... as in not one ... engagement of the tailhook with an arresting wire in eight tries. The tests were conducted under ideal conditions ... not at sea on a moving ship.

And because of the airplanes stealth characteristics, the tailhook can't simply be made longer and not compromise the low-observable design. The stealth design has the tailhook masked by the aircraft's skin, and a longer hook would stick out in the radar signature.

The blog writer says the flaw was identified in the Pentagon's "quick look" assessment of the airplane's progress, according to an article posted on www.f-16.net.

FMI: www.f35.com

Advertisement

More News

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (12.11.25)

"The owners envisioned something modern and distinctive, yet deeply meaningful. We collaborated closely to refine the flag design so it complemented the aircraft’s contours w>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (12.11.25): Nonradar Arrival

Nonradar Arrival An aircraft arriving at an airport without radar service or at an airport served by a radar facility and radar contact has not been established or has been termina>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: David Uhl and the Lofty Art of Aircraft Portraiture

From 2022 (YouTube Edition): Still Life with Verve David Uhl was born into a family of engineers and artists—a backdrop conducive to his gleaning a keen appreciation for the >[...]

Airborne-NextGen 12.09.25: Amazon Crash, China Rocket Accident, UAV Black Hawk

Also: Electra Goes Military, Miami Air Taxi, Hypersonics Lab, MagniX HeliStrom Amazon’s Prime Air drones are back in the spotlight after one of its newest MK30 delivery drone>[...]

Airborne 12.05.25: Thunderbird Ejects, Lost Air india 737, Dynon Update

Also: Trailblazing Aviator Betty Stewart, Wind Farm Scrutiny, Chatham Ban Overturned, Airbus Shares Dive A Thunderbird pilot, ID'ed alternately as Thunderbird 5 or Thunderbird 6, (>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Change Display

Headlines Only | Headlines w/ Teasers | View Everything

Advertisement

Top Videos

Airborne 10.03.25: Phantom 3500 Buy, ‘Chinese Military Company’, NOTAM Redesign

Airborne Affordable Flyers 10.02.25: MOSAIC Start Date, AFE25 Tickets, ePulitzer

Airborne 10.01.25: New Gulfstream G300, Affordable Flying Expo Tkts, Starship 11

See All

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC