The Most Advanced 5th Gen Cockpit? | F-35 Lightning

[@SkyhawkSteve]

back in the mid-80's, as a young engineer at McDonnell Douglas in the flight simulator group, I saw that they had a cockpit mocked up as the "cockpit of the future". It was a big screen, with all of the radar, nav, comm, etc., info all merged into one big display. This was when the F-18 was still new and the glass cockpit was evolving. They certainly knew where they wanted technology to go, but the display technology and processing power still needed a lot of development.

[@moosemaimer]

Interesting that it looks like they haven't updated the fonts since then, all the text still reminds me of playing a game of Battlezone.

[@andersjjensen]

@@moosemaimer They are easy to read. That is all that matters.

[@corvanphoenix]

​@@andersjjensenPlus they're already paid for.

[@LRRPFco52]

@@SkyhawkSteve There were 1980s artist renderings of the future fighter Man Machine Interface as well, with an HMD and full glass panel cockpit. Loral had some cool artwork that was featured in Aviation Week & Space Technology frequently. The actual systems development was going on right under our noses with the AFTI F-16 at Edwards AFB from about 1982-forward. It was always a cool plane to see and check out whatever cockpit variation they were using at the time.

[@hassanmirza2392]

Did you ever consider how many innocents are killed by US tech all over the world? Shame on you people.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

It was very cool of Lockheed to bring you in & to give us all a tour of the F-35 cockpit👍

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

thanks :)

[@MrRobertX70]

Having read about these systems, I understood how they worked but seeing them in action really convinced me of their capabilities.

[@fredsalfa]

That’s really incredible. My dad was a P51D fighter pilot in WW2. I wish he could have been here to see the latest and best fighter planes of today. I wonder what he would have thought about these planes.

[@raylauderback5126]

Wow! I 👀 Thanks to you, and Lockheed Martin, for allowing us to get a insider's view of how the F-35 performs! 👍

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@franciscoborges9591]

they already have alien tech

[@lovetoride9646]

Fascinating. It was cool to see how the instructor, Puff, walks around in front of the cockpit and reaches inside to assist. It makes using the simulator seem so easy. It's great that the air force is so open with their systems. Even after this great insight I still have absolutely no idea how it works🤗

[@johnburpi8484]

What I’m most impressed is how automated everything is it’s truly like playing a video game. One thing I wish you could ask is how has this impacted training I would love detail video about what parts of training f35 pilots vs legacy aircraft pilots get Easier and harder what unique challenges or skills each pilot has when training in the f35 and weather the access of flight simulators like DCS or Microsoft flight simulator has any long term impacts on training future pilots when aircraft become more digital each year. Love to ask these questions

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

I'll note them down :)

[@LRRPFco52]

It’s harder to train a 4th Gen pilot to fight in the F-22A or F-35s because they have so many different task sets and task-switching habits trained in well, whereas a new pilot is fresh with no 4th Gen habits. Managing all the information is hard though, because there is so much more of it in a 5th Gen cockpit as you can see. 4th Gen has federated displays and systems where you have to HUD-Radar-RWR-FLIR scan, whereas this is all fused in the F-35 HMD and PCD. F-35 Situational Awareness is an unfair advantage, and even former F-22 pilots who have gone F-35A say they have more SA in the -35 than the -22. The F-22 has far more SA than legacy 4.5 Gen fighters, with huge gaps in sensor performance and fusion that don’t exist on legacy birds.

[@Ficon]

Salute to everyone delivering a payload while watching this video. Love that you get all these cool experiences, Chris! Well-earned.

[@alibadawi3398]

If this much is declassified, scary to think what IS classified...

[@reecechadwick8504]

@@alibadawi3398 not much probably

[@LRRPFco52]

@@reecechadwick8504 The original F-16A/B late 1970s APG-66 Radar still has classified features, and we haven't been using those in decades. Those were replaced by early F-16C/D Block 25 with APG-68, which has gone through 9 different upgrades before it was replaced in combat-coded F-16C/Ds with a new little AESA. The F-35 Block 3 AESA is in a more advanced place than those, already scheduled to be superceded by the Block 4 APG-85 AESA. The structures, weapons bays, EW, sensors, and systems coding are all highly classified with the F-35 program.

[@reecechadwick8504]

@@LRRPFco52 Wow thank you for this info, interesting read.

[@Viper_TT_Official]

​@@reecechadwick8504 the most highly classified systems are the EW systems. The sensors are very much weapons for the F35, the radar specifically can be used to eventually blind other radars, scramble it's own radar so it won't trigger RWR of other planes or make fake ghost targets when you have multiple F35s working together

[@cud0s]

probably lots of interesting ew capabilities

[@davydatwood3158]

That was super interesting, so thank you to all involved. Two main thoughts in my head: first, the data sharing capabilities sound so much like what David Drake was describing in his novels in the 80s and 90s. Clearly everyone knew where they wanted to go, and now we're finally getting there. Second, I've been doing a lot of training for work this past fortnight, and have dealt with a wide range of instructor personalities and skill levels. "Puff" was just perfect, clear explanations, stead tone of voice, steady speed of instruction. I'm very impressed and I'm sure his students appreciate him!

[@FrankBarnwell-xi8my]

Naaah. Chris just joined the Marines to get access. So to speak. Tons of thanks Chris!

[@slartybartfarst55]

A definite big THANK YOU from me - mI never expected to be able to see such an accurate representation of inside this cockpit. Thank you

[@michaelguerin56]

Thank you Christoph, Puff and Lockheed Martin for an excellent and informative video. Cheers from NZ🇳🇿.

[@stephenbrown1077]

So interesting that the explanation of systems aided by your questions was spot on. It's so impressive. Many thanks both.

[@mohan33367.]

Wow, This F -35 is just out of this world. Fantastic Experience and Future is for these Planes.I Simply saw this Clip 2 Times and I keep on watching such lovely Clips. Great.

[@DeltaV64]

Beautiful demonstration. Love the information that this plane is able to display. Just even the sensor aspect of it is insane.

[@JeremyD986]

Excellent video Chris! And thanks Lockheed Martin for giving us all a cool demo!

[@halo3zocker]

Danke an Christoph, Puff & Lockheed Martin für dieses schöne Video. Denke das die Luftwaffe einen guten Kauf getätigt hat mit der Anschaffung de F35.

[@sooofknlonely]

Wo isn das ?

[@prichardgs]

Wow this was awesome! "Puff" is a great spokesman for this aircraft and super warrior to boot.

[@The1trueJester]

This video has me feeling nostalgic for when i went to LockMar in 07 and flew the jsf sim

[@omarrp14]

Every aircraft is a 2 seater if you’re friendly enough. I’d sit on someone’s lap for a ride 😅

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Hah!

[@gavinangeloff4746]

This is so awesome! 5th gen displays and capabilities are a huge step up from 4th gen.

[@kayakutah]

Thanks, this was amazingly interesting and informative. I went from the F-8 (RF-8) Crusader to the F-14 and then the F-16N. The jumps in capabilities I saw are dwarfed by the jump to the F-35!

[@brandonsmith4660]

Very interesting and informative video! And thanks, Lockheed for giving Chris access to the cockpit and film this.

[@TeeDee87]

as a Finn I'm absolutely sure we did the right choice. And I was really happy to hear that first planes come to my hometown base in next year.

[@rossmunro7084]

Great seeing you were given access. and nothing there was gung ho. it was a professional talking and demonstrating what is in the limits of what can be shown. GREAT that you got access. I'm just a Scale modeller but this made me want to built hat F-35C i have. Major thanks sent out from us viewers to the people giving you that access. and to you sir, for making these vids :)

[@JSmith73]

Legend, pool of public domain information that Eagle Dynamics can use to model the plane in DCS World is growing by volumes! Amazing video.

[@HarshTekie]

Best video on YT ever! Asking the kinds of questions we all want to know.

[@abrakahocus]

Thank you so much Lockheed Martin for allowing Chris to show us the F35 flight simulator. It's near to see just how far we've come in flight technology. :)

[@ronhudson3730]

After a very long delay, for political reasons, Canada has finally ordered F-35’s. It will be several years before the initial deliveries but that may ensure we get models that are more advanced and give the RCAF time to upgrade its facilities and support systems and personnel to be ready for the new platform.

[@hlynnkeith9334]

It ain't done yet. Plenty of time remaining for Trudeau to screw it up.

[@ronhudson3730]

@@hlynnkeith9334 Trudea is on life-support. If it gets screwed up, it will be the civil service.

[@hlynnkeith9334]

@@ronhudson3730 You have a point. Thanks for the addition.

[@troyezell5841]

I hope Trudeau loses, he is as bad as Biden and Kamala!

[@ynissim]

why Canada need such an expensive aircraft ? does it even have any enemies?

[@alpenfoxvideo7255]

I knew it! I was at AirPower24 and they had 4 USAF F-35 (maintenance crew said), one was on display and one was flying, 2 in a reserved hangar. Surely they were there to do more stuff behind closed doors. I’m jealous as I only managed to sit in the Gripen mockup

[@LogistiQbunnik]

Really amazing content. Very interesting and thank you as well as all Patreons and off course Lockheed Martin for providing the opportunity to showcase some of what modern jet systems are about.

[@morganormrod1622]

Brilliant video thanks! The best/most in depth f35 systems video iv seen

[@judevector]

This is really nice we get to see this, thanks to Lockheed martins and Chris for this wonderful showcase ❤

[@philipwagner9169]

Simply awe inspiring. Thank you so much, Bismark and L-M!

[@davedarling4316]

It's interesting to see how the displays have changed since the pre-production days. Unfortunately I don't remember the actual displays in the sim down in Fort Worth all that well, but I'm pretty sure the displays were smaller and configured differently. But it was many years ago, and I didn't see them in situ for that long.

[@fanBladeOne]

Great pointing out the relevance of feedback. Loved the video!

[@IAMSEYMOURMUSIC]

you are building such a solid channel, I love it!

[@virgo47]

Fantastic material. I love old steam gauges just the same I appreciate these modern screens. F-35 is next-level stuff widely availalbe - there is no comparison for that. Thanks to all of you, Chris and all the hosts. Absolutely mind blowing information!

[@Koenigstiger.]

Great Video, thx from Germany

[@FISSIONINITIATEDSUNRISE]

I'm soo acustomed to flying the f35 in microsoft flight sim that I'm mechanically itching the pre dial my nav and autopilot the second I see the interface. The only thing shown here which is lacking in MCFS is the radar, which will be aded in the next update. The speed bleedoff during that maneuver and the angle shift is pretty indentical to the MCFS plane . Also, the plane in the game is slightly less sensitive on takeoff. Those guys at indiafoxtecho really nailed the thing with the game addon. Fantastic video.

[@DrJump3r]

This made me realize how accurately VTOL VR is for it beeing a game in regards to the displays

[@Foxtrott_4]

Or ace combat...

[@DrJump3r]

@@Foxtrott_4 Can you customize every single window and menu, swap in between set presets etc., control with touch or sidestick like in that video here?

[@Foxtrott_4]

@@DrJump3r no, I was thinking about the HUD, but yeah you were talking about the displays

[@death00124]

This was amazing i really hope they let u show more of this!

[@therealCG62]

Doubtful it'll happen in our lifetimes, but man I hope we get to play around with this thing in a detailed simulator at some point.

[@martinw245]

F35 is in MS FS 2020.

[@zorbakaput8537]

@@martinw245 Haha that is so funny . @therealCG62 - The F16, F22 and the F35A are all available as default aircraft in Prepar3D with proper flight modeling. They allow a proper move from 4th gen to 5th gen for a home simulator.

[@thurbine2411]

@@martinw245but it isn’t a detailed simulation. Especially not of the radar and other systems which are the interesting things

[@martinw245]

@@thurbine2411 True.

[@sailyourface]

I guess eagle dynamics heard you lol

[@bigswedewulferine19]

Looks like Chris is moving up in the world. Well done. Good video and thanks to Lockheed Martin for giving us a small glimpse of what their aircraft can do.

[@NetTopsey]

That was a fascinating overview of how the F-35 operations and targeting are done.

[@woffe8094]

Man this is awesome. Hope we can get some more planes with a cockpit this crazy

[@stephenkeeffe4940]

That was great. Most interesting. Never really understood the power of the F-35 till now.

[@MohamedBabiker90]

Yea, we need that in DCS ASAP!!!!!

[@Bigode2840]

@@MohamedBabiker90 4real 😀

[@marcoflumino]

Chris you are a luck bugger! I wish we were that lucky to try out those systems. I understand why they don't do that, and I am pretty sure that the are missing few other instruments that you was not able to film or they were not in the simulator for various reason (security first).

[@zlm001]

This is just what I wanted from Lockheed Martin. More please! Thanks.

[@andrewpinner3181]

Thanks Chris & Lockheed for this amazing demonstration ! This would even make Luke Skywalker envious ! 😅

[@Lensman864]

Very interesting and quite a coup to get the access!

[@hangie65]

Awesome content, awesome effort. Many thanks for this!

[@zlm001]

This was awesome. It’s so hard to communicate the advantages of this plane without going to classified territory. So much of it is EW, and that’s some of the most secret information out there. I hear all the time about situational awareness and information management, but you can’t get an inkling of how advantageous it is without seeing how it works inside the cockpit. Lockheed Martin should do A LOT more public engagement this way. I’ve got no ground to stand on with this, but I’ve seen a couple of pilots who apparently were trained on the jet seemingly giving BS answers about the plane’s performance. One of them, it seemed to me, seemed like he was giving answers trashing the plane just to appease the two other pilot hosts who had never flown it. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there seems to be a lot of misinformation even within the fighter pilot community. Edit: comment on a decent chunk of KZbin fighter pilots being low key drama queens deleted, even though I’m sure nobody would take offense to this. 😅

[@HenryKlausEsq.]

OK this rules. Good work to you, Lockheed Martin and Carlton Wilson. The F-35 is a friggin spaceship.

[@vanteal]

For all the serious videos that you do, I'd love to see you tackle some other media types, like anime series, and give your thoughts and opinions. The first anime series I'd love to see you talk about and critique would be "The Magnificent Kotobuki" about a squadron of female fighter pilots and their enemies who all fly WWII-era fighters. The anime itself is "ok" but I'd love to just hear you talk about the planes, and any historical accuracies or inaccuracies. From the planes themselves to the fighter group tactics, and so on. You could easily do a series of videos reacting to each episode, or just watch the series on your own time and then do a single video on the series. However you did it, I just wanna see you talk about the series and the planes in it..

[@IceyJones]

the sensor fusion is impressive!

[@gorbalsboy]

Amazing tech, shown to good effect by your very well informed and to the point questions 😊

[@chrisg9627]

Fascinating insight, thank you, and well managed by Lockheed Martin too. Your content and credentials are evolving nicely. Mit freundlichen Grüßen from Lindau Bodensee.

[@TukaihaHithlec]

Thanks for this. Cool to see and really appreciated.

[@RoelBaardman]

These cockpits raise various questions to me: - How do these touchscreens work in turbulent situations or situations with G-loads? - How do these screens behave in various lighting conditions? Full sunlight, at night. - Does a graphical screen cause eye fatigue for the pilot? - What dictates the color palette used? - How is information overload prevented?

[@nobleman-swerve]

-HOTAS, all controls vital to fighting are physical buttons on the throttle and stick. Just like all fighters since essentially the late 70's. - The helmet visor is polarized. We've had critical information displayed on glass for decades now. This is a solved issue. - Most office workers will spend more time staring at a screen than a F-35 pilot. Unless crossing an ocean, it's rare to sortie for over 4 hours. - Decades of research and millions of dollars spent on cognitive research by the air force and navy for information overload.

[@JeffBilkins]

Pretty cool they let you in the simulator for a demo.

[@sageg58]

The radar being used on the SA page makes so much sense, i wonder why no earlier jets could do it

[@bjrnchrstn]

Really interesting video. Thanks 🙏🏻

[@The_ZeroLine]

We see offensive sims often, but I’d love to see a simulation of what the pilots’d see + do when facing multi-layered threats, including SAMS, electronic warfare, air-to-air missiles, MANPADS, etc.

[@MetalFalcon99]

Be funny if the pilot had a message board where they share the “Meta” and their favorite display settings

[@tver]

@@MetalFalcon99 Perhaps they can save custom user profiles (like we have in games or business software) and share those. ;)

[@MetalFalcon99]

@@tver Lockheed get on this

[@little_fluffy_clouds]

@@MetalFalcon99 with a live stream to Twitch, right? Heh.

[@F3PIZZA]

They do. Stuff like “R Space”

[@ynissim]

amazing, i envy those who were fortunate enough to work on the aircraft SW and QA.

[@barendgarvelink]

This was really cool to see, thanks

[@jckluckhohn]

Impressive systems. They’re improving too!

[@nahcurtis]

Great video!

[@TheBlackSpider82]

Fantastic video!

[@jeremywilson4326]

Thank you Chris ,,, I hope thats right ,,, I appreciate you brother.

[@MarceloCarmello-y8s]

Awesome. Thank you for sharing!

[@shaunwest3612]

Amazing, what an incredible aircraft 👌

[@dinglemckringleberry9429]

The MSFS version is wild for being that close.

[@rick7424]

What a legend!

[@andreyzhavoronkov6746]

That RCS screen is very peculiar. Even though it has probably have nothing to do with the reality (seems that highest visibility is in head-on aspect), I can clearly see how it could be extremely useful. Keep your threat emitters to the lowest RCS aspects until the time is right.

[@khartraxx]

Very interesting! Thank you.

[@00calvinlee00]

Awesome report!! Cool cockpit but the whole time I was trying to find pitotstatic gages as a backup. Electrical problems can put pilots in a similar situation with dead panels and dead helmet. What is the backup for these $100 birds? I think of friends who flew around Carriers or LHA/LHDs trying to find Mother during IFR conditions with the HUD out.

[@DruidTimer]

Thank you Chris, and thank you Lockheed Martin.

[@DCS_World_Japan]

How do they get around lack of tactile feedback when using touchscreens? It seems like it would be a huge ergonomics problem e.g. flying formation when you're eyes on lead, then you've gotta switch radio freqs/channels without taking your eyes off lead. Also weird how he talks about zooming/breaking out radar contacts and seeing what the wingman is targeting via datalink as something new when it's been a thing in 4th gen fighters since the mid 2000s.

[@corvanphoenix]

I'd love to see the hand controls your using to interface with the displays.

[@tomhorn6156]

I miss my P3D setup.Thanks LM.

[@kjell-oh7ez]

As you have been in the Gripen E simulator also any comparisons?

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Likely in an upcoming video. The interface on the screen is quite different as both jets have distinct capabilities (example that separate screen on F-35 providing feedback on detectability). Also, I did not yet see the FLIR screen integration on Gripen (during my session).

[@zlm001]

The F-35 is like a muscle car packed with a server room. The fuselage skin is like the gigantic hood bulge of a hot rod muscle car with an over sized powerplant.

[@HowlingWo1f]

Pretty wild how they say no cameras and then gave him such VIP access,

[@chespocket1756]

Yes so he can show the world … Hmmmmmm ?

[@ronboe6325]

Huge thanks to Lockheed Martin and Puff for providing this sort of interaction with them. Great job!

[@steveperreira5850]

Joke of jokes. The F 35. Totally obsolete in an era of drones that should’ve been anticipated decades ago. The US military are idiots

[@richardgray7480]

Awesome.... absolutely awesome!

[@wabbasMEpern]

Thank you LockMart

[@forthwithtx5852]

Nice score.

[@jadams3427]

Thank you for this video, and thank you to LM for allowing it, because a lot of us Western taxpayers don't have enough access to see some of the new capabilities of the stuff we pay for. We should not see everything, but for a long time we have had to have a lot of pure faith in the F-35. It starts to earn some honest trust, when we see stuff like this.

[@MilitaryTalkingBush]

Love this plane..!

[@divarachelenvy]

Chris, like a kid in a candy store...

[@rafaeltoledo2310]

Interestingly, the cockpit is surprisingly simple.

[@unknownuser069]

We worked hard AF to make it simple. In the early days pilots kept trying to get us to put buttons and switches back in the jet. Some systems did earn their way back into the jet, you can see the center console has some knobs and a few dedicated displays. For the most part though, the increase in speed and efficiency is just too good to pass up.

[@LRRPFco52]

If you look at start-up procedures, in-flight tasks, and maintenance, this cockpit smokes legacy cockpits. Legacy cockpits have a black box behind every display and panel, with wiring coming out of the back that flows into the wiring harnesses. They are a nightmare to maintain, doubled in 2-seaters. Corrosion, G forces, dust, sand, moisture, and wear and tear wreak havoc on cockpits. This is one of the several reasons why it’s so much easier to operate and maintain F-35s vs 4th Gen. Look at the MMH/FH numbers if you have doubts.

[@Pathfinder1932-t5d]

Simple and yet provides much better situational awareness and much less workload. It is the best design of any fighter to exist so far.

[@LRRPFco52]

@@Pathfinder1932-t5d The workload shifted from managing sensors and systems through federated displays, to managing decisions on targets, timeline, placement, and signature exposure/concealment. They have their work cut out for them for sure.

[@Shepherd1234]

12:26 I don't get it. Any expert? How can you select the AA and Ground mode for the radar? And does the F35 come with the terrain scanning image you can get in an F16, or F15 for instance or it's not possible and the screen will be always black?

[@ZaphodHarkonnen]

As much as the F-35 project has been an example of how not to run a development and construction project. The stuff developed really shows just how much of a leap has been taken. From memory the only other aircraft currently coming close to this level of sensor fusion and avionics as a platform is the Rafale. The video also shows why so many other manufacturers, military and civilian, are putting so much into developing system platforms to more easily support integration of functional modules. Oh, and as a side note. Just think of how crazy advanced what was shown was. Then put it in the context that this is the stuff they're publicly showing.

[@zorbakaput8537]

"As much as the F-35 project has been an example of how not to run a development and construction project. " Says who? You do realise there are now over 1000 F35s delivered. and the cost benefit anaylsis available when compared to other AC in service is putting them in out in front. The F35 variants are also putting the 16 nations that are using them on a good footing for the 6th gen AC to come.

[@kentunemo5866]

As a Swede i root for the JAS 39 Gripen E ! Has some tricks up the sleeve that F35 lacks...😊

[@TukaihaHithlec]

@@zorbakaput8537 This is not some new or wild observation. The F-35 turned out great, but there were multiple hiccups along the way that easily could have gone better. Simple as that.

[@LRRPFco52]

What would be a good example of a program management where a multi-service 5.5 Gen VLO fighter was developed, tested, produced, and refined? There isn’t any precedence for this. Congress interfered with mandating stupid 7085 aluminum for all the bulkheads so their mafia family handlers and strategic materials contracts could be serviced, but other than that, it has been wildly successful. Rafale does not have anywhere near the sensor count or closed-loop sensor fusion that JSF has. Totally different ballgame, and the Rafale is a great system, just not really like JSF. The closest sensor architecture platform to F-35 is the F-22, which is a giant leap over all of the 4.5 Gen fighters.

[@LRRPFco52]

@@kentunemo5866 Gripen E has no tricks that compare with JSF. It doesn’t even have 4th Gen raw performance for starters, and is still under development with airframe structural changes being made. Sweden made a huge strategic mistake by going with a single F404 motor platform to replace the Viggen. They should have done a licensed contract manufacture of F/A-18 or F-16, putting them in position to join the JSF family now.

[@bassett_green]

Did they give you a discount code to use at checkout if we want to buy one?

[@llamallama1509]

Woah! Amazing information. How is the stealth display read? I couldn't quite figure it out

[@LRRPFco52]

Warning indicators are flashing when VLO is compromised in some way, whether it be used of Afterburner or bay doors open in this demo.

[@businessprodigy_]

1:20 Christian Von Koenigsegg.