Don Bacon
Lockheed is hosting a media event now, what Aaron Mehta has labeled "flackapalooza," and if a "journalist" from the "free press" wants to get invited back for more stuff to scribble about, and a hosted bar, he/she had better post one or more favorable stories. We're seeing a bunch of them now.
It's illegal to produce and put into service systems until they undergo operational test and evaluation, and that's because of all the bad examples where the Pentagon has cut corners and come up short on performance and long on cost and schedule. The F-35 SAR predicts they will be done in 2019, but probably not.
So they will market this first STOVL sea trial as a totally successful operational test. Just don't put G forces, yaw and roll stresses on the plane all at the same time, and trust that Martin-Baker ejection seat.
Will the plane be certified as air-worthy before IOC? Something usually done after operational test and evaluation? I imagine NAVAIR might have found someone to do it. There's always someone.
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