Aircraft Undergoes Anechoic Chamber Tests

As flight-testing of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter progresses, program officials are accelerating follow-on support testing to keep pace, including testing the thermal management system of the AF-3, the first fully equipped systems aircraft, which is undergoing anechoic chamber tests at Lockheed Martin. The AF-3 is expected to ferry to Edwards Air Force Base in October.Thermal management had been a potential concern for the F-35 test team, but has not been an issue so far. The litmus test, however, of the power and thermal management system, of which the IPP is a subsystem, will come during upcoming tests of the AF-3. Cooling requirements will be more acute on it because it will be configured with Block 0.5 mission system software, airborne radar and electronic warfare systems.Read more in Aviation Week.