‘Hot loading’ is when an aircraft lands and has ordnance loaded while the engine is still running.
Marines from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 conducted a hot-load in F-35B Lightning II’s at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. on Sept. 21, 2017. This hot-load was conducted using AMRAMM AIM-120 missiles. VMFA-121 is a part of Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.
The exercise was a validation/verification conducted during Weapons and Tactics Instructors course 1-18. WTI is an exercise that takes service members from all over the world in a joint training exercise for mission readiness. WTI is hosted by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron one.
“They will now have a publication to use,” said Cpl. Matthew Donovan an aviation ordnance technician with VMFA-121. “We took it out there and we validated it. We know it works so now in the future they will have it in writing.”
According to the US Marine Corps:
“The hot-load exercise was conducted to ensure both pilots and ground crew have a real example of operations should those units deploy. The F-35B’s were loaded with the AIM-120 missile and took off horizontally immediately after.
The AMRAMM AIM-120 is an air-to-air missile that will be used in conjunction with a Tactical Air Launch Decoy. The TALD was loaded onto an AV-8B Harrier II to be launched and used as a target for the AIM-120. The TALD is an expendable glide vehicle that can mimic the heat and radar signatures of a full-sized aircraft.”
“You can’t shoot an air-to-air missile unless you have something to shoot at,” said Donovan. “The TALD is just a glider that comes off of the Harrier and then it glides straight and the Harrier moves out of the way.”
This hot-load exercise is to verify theory and validate publication and give the Marines involved a chance to load live ordnance while the aircraft is still hot. While the F-35B has been loaded hot before, this is the first time it has been conducted with these air-to-air missiles.
How stealthy is the F35 when it has munitions under it’s wings compared to an armed Typhoon ?
UK will have a better missile in the form of Meteor
The National Interest has got hold of the the Director of Operational Testing and Evaluation for the F35 annual report on status of F35 develeopment ( publish 3rd of October). It describes how almost every system to failing to reach operational minimum requirements. It is absolutely damming. The report contains such detail it must have been released because there are very serious concerns about the F35 problems. The report is named “The F35Program Continues to Stumble.” If correct it really is eye opening.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-f-35-program-continues-stumble-22589
….and suddenly with those pylons the F-35 is no longer stealthy ……