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Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

How the F-35 Stealth Fighter Is Using Lasers (No, Not in Combat)

F-35 Stealth
F-35 Stealth Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program has reached yet another milestone when it successfully completed the verification of the laser shock peening process on the “B” version of the aircraft.

The process is designed to produce more robust aircraft that can withstand the amazing forces in which they are required to operate.

Flown by the U.S. Marine Corps, the F-35B is the short takeoff-vertical landing (STOVL) version of the stealth fighter jet.

Laser Shock Peening Equals Older F-35Bs

F-35 support personnel out of Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) completed the verification of the laser shock peening process and returned the first F-35B back to the fleet to undergo the process there too.

Laser shock peening is a process designed to strengthen the airframe of the F-35 without adding any additional material.

By not adding anything else on the airframe that would increase the stealth fighter jet’s weight, the process ensures that the F-35B’s weapons and fuel capacity are undistributed. To maintain its stealth characteristics, the F-35 is forced to carry any munitions within its internal weapons bays, but this results in a restricted arsenal on board. The laser shock peening process ensures that this limited arsenal doesn’t become smaller.

“The big picture here is that we set up a capability that has never been stood up before. We made STOVL history by completing verification of the laser shock peening procedure on the first Marine Corps aircraft inducted for the modification and returned to the fleet. As our local enterprise, we accomplished a lot to get the building stood up, get the equipment set up, and then roll the first aircraft into something that has never been done before,” Jeanie Holder, the F-35 Joint Program Office induction manager at FRCE, stated.

Fleet Readiness Center East is the first and only facility in the world with the capability to conduct laser shock peening on the F-35.

But the process also increases the life expectancy of the F-35B.

“The laser shock peening modification is essential to extending the life of the F-35B STOVL variant, and the ability to complete this procedure successfully allows FRC East to support this critical workload. Standing up this strategic capability positions FRC East as a readiness multiplier for the future of Marine Corps aviation, and I’m proud of the hard work and dedication shown by the team in achieving verification of the process and returning the first laser shock peened F-35 aircraft to the fleet,” Colonel Thomas A. Atkinson, the Commanding Officer of FRCE, said in a press release.

How To Do It On Your Own 

The verification is necessary for the process to become reliable and repeatable. In action, it’s a lot like writing a car manual or furniture instructions. The F-35 support team examined all the variables, such as the engineering instructions, tools, and supply system, and put the process through rigorous testing in order to produce a digestible set of instructions and procedures forward-based F-35 crews and maintainers can follow to support their squadrons.

“Verification makes the process repeatable. You could take that instruction now and go complete this modification anywhere in the world if you had an LSP [Laser Shock Peening] facility because all the steps are correct and in the right order. You have everything you need to do it,” Scott Nelson, the F-35 Joint Program Office induction manager at FRCE, said.

The F-35 support team put more than 15,000 hours into verifying the process.

1945’s New Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.

1945’s Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist with specialized expertise in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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