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A team of US Air Force personnel, the US F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), Ogden Air Logistics Complex, and Lockheed Martin have taken on the impossible task of stitching together the two pieces of separate F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.
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Led by the US government’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), the project draws on the experience and expertise of a multidisciplinary and cross-government and industry team of uniquely qualified individuals from the JPO, the 388th Fighter Wing, the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, and original equipment manufacturer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Lockheed Martin.
After researching the feasibility, the F-35 JPO, working with the 388th Fighter Wing, opted to reconstruct AF-211, an aircraft that encountered a nose landing-gear separation in June 2020.
The nose section of this aircraft is being replaced with the undamaged nose from AF-27, an F-35 that experienced a severe engine fire at Eglin AFB, Florida, in 2014 and is now serving as an Air Force Air Battle Damage and Repair trainer at Hill AFB.
Dan Santos, F-35 JPO heavy maintenance manager, explained: “This is a first for the F-35 program and a very exciting project.”
Over the past several years, the F-35 JPO has sought out new opportunities to repurpose useable parts and systems from damaged F-35 aircraft for continued use and benefit to F-35 maintenance and operations.
This program of works builds on the extensive experience gained from several recent salvage aircraft repurpose projects, including the stand-up of the first F-35 maintainer training facility using salvaged aircraft sections, as well as the partial restoration of a salvaged F-35 airframe for use as an ABDR trainer – the F-35 JPO is now taking the effort a step further.
Santos added: “It takes a team to make these types of endeavours successful. I am very impressed with the collaborative efforts from the various agencies across Hill AFB, working together to make this happen.”
Taking the lead, the F-35 JPO leveraged this newly established network of skilled professionals, resources and facilities, all of which are located at Hill AFB, to undertake the “Franken-bird” project.
Scott Taylor, Lockheed Martin’s lead mechanical engineer, expanded on the comments of Santos, saying: “Work began on the feasibility of this project in January 2020, when the F-35 JPO reached out to us because we had already accomplished the really big damage restoration projects for the F-22.”
To complete the work onsite at Hill AFB, entirely new, unique, specialised tooling, fixtures and equipment have been designed and built, specifically adapted for mobility, the processes and technologies developed and perfected during the “mating” process for the “Franken-plane” have potential future uses abroad and during periods of conflict to repair major airframe damage.
“We’ve designed versatile tooling that fits neatly into a conex box, making it transportable to various locations, including forward operation areas,” Taylor added.
This project is currently several months ahead of schedule and shows a completion date of March 2025.
