As the closest ally of the United States, Israel was the first country to acquire the F-35s and is responsible for their maintenance and upkeep. Israel recently released a film of the F-35I’s surface maintenance, and the outside world was able to learn how difficult it is to maintain the effectiveness of the stowage.
The Aviationist (The Aviationist) reported that the tracer, also known as Low Observability (LO, Low Observability), relies on the shape of the aircraft and the radar wave absorbing coating on the surface, which means that the aircraft’s profile should reduce the vertical reflective surface as much as possible, and the surface shape of the aircraft should be as simple as possible, so it needs an in-flight bomb bay, and the fuselage is made of composite materials. It can also be very helpful, because the radar reflectivity of metal is stronger, while the composite material is weaker. Lastly is the coating, in the entire aircraft covering the entire jet are covered with radar-absorbing material, also can be deflected or absorb enemy radar waves.
Israel is short of water, wash the aircraft to minimize the use of water, mostly scrubbed with special soap. (Photo/Israeli Air Force)
However, during flight, the outer coating is of course subject to wear and tear from dust, bugs or simply air friction, and after a long time, the tracer effect will of course fade, so the surface coating must be maintained regularly to ensure the F-35’s tracer effect.
The Israeli Air Force has posted their maintenance work on the F-35I surface on their official website. Major Eddie (Israel did not leave his full name to protect the pilots), who is the leader of the 116th Squadron Southern Lions Squadron, said, “Before maintaining the surface of the F-35, the fighter must be cleaned to ensure that the surface of this aircraft is clean and free of impurities. “
“Most aircraft are cleaned once every few weeks (to wash the aircraft), and the F-16I is better to wash because it’s smaller and has a high attendance rate. And the C-130J transport aircraft is probably washed once every few months because it’s not easy to wash a large aircraft. “
“There are some countries that have large washers designed for washing aircraft, but Israel doesn’t have them because that uses too much water. We in the Israeli Air Force use special soap, as well as logisticians to wash them manually. “
The golden color of the cockpit canopy is also a special absorbent coating, which also has to be scrubbed carefully and carefully. (Photo/Israeli Air Force)
Cleaning the F-35I is done about once every 3 months, each process takes 2 days, and the cleaning requires 3 technicians, as well as an instructional officer to perform, which is evident in its prudence.
It goes without saying that the cleaning must be done gently and carefully to avoid damage to the coating, so the technicians wear gloves and all tools have soft edges to avoid scratching the coating, a process that is quite complex and requires the highest level of patience.
“The Southern Lions squadron received the F-35I on Jan. 16, 2020, becoming the second squadron to operate the F-35I, after using F-16A/Bs, which were retired in December 2016.
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