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| BAF “Real-World” Free-Space EME |
Air Force tests F-35A electronic systems in special chamber
11/12/2015 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- An F-35A Lightning II entered the Benefield Anechoic Facility for the first time Sept. 14. The aircraft is undergoing Electromagnetic Environmental Effects testing, called E3 or "Triple E" by the team.
"What that means is we're testing the different electronic components on the jet and making sure they don't interfere with each other," said Jeff Farren, Joint Strike Fighter lead E3 test engineer. "When you're up there flying you don't want your radar to cut off your communications systems."
The testing is scheduled to last until Nov. 14 and will allow the JSF Program Office to sign off on verification on military electromagnetic standards. The verification is a requirement to begin initial operational capability testing of the F-35A with its Block 3i software and final use of the Block 3F software.
There are three variants of the F-35 used by the Air Force (F-35A), Marines (F-35B), and Navy (F-35C). Each variant is using a unique block of software to begin their IOC testing.
"The Marines just recently did [IOC] with Block 2B software and the Air Force is about to do it within the next year with 3i software. The Navy is going to do it with 3F software and that's the software that's on the jet, but it's an Air Force jet that's in the chamber," said Andrew Corp, JSF Electronic Warfare engineer.
The BAF is the largest known anechoic facility chamber in the world. It is populated with radar absorbent material to simulate a clean RF environment. The chamber provides RF shielding from outside interference and at the same time contains RF interference inside the chamber from leaking outside. It allows jets, like the F-35, to be isolated from the outside world to ensure that the tests are only collecting data from the components on the jet and not spurious RF noises in the environment.
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| AFD-141126-061.pdf Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF) |
Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF) MISSION
The Electronic Warfare Group (EWG) 772d Test Squadron’s Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF) provides a comprehensive, robust and scalable radio frequency (RF) test and evaluation (T&E) infrastructure and capability to ensure weapons system survivability and mission effectiveness for the DoD, industry and our allies. It provides invaluable resources with technical support and capabilities as uniquely required by the specific program in the areas of:- An exclusively large anechoic chamber facility
- Complete end-to-end installed systems test
- Dense, high fidelity RF threat simulation and verification
- Electronic countermeasures collection, measurement and analysis
- Radar target return and ECM simulations
- Antenna pattern measurement
- Intra- and Inter-Systems Electromagnetic (EM) Interoperability and Compatibility (EMI/EMC)
- Electromagnetic environmental effects (E3) measurements
- Global positioning system (GPS) signal generation
- Proficient RF and EW systems and systems test engineering expertise and know-how
- State-of-the-Art RF, digital and video instrumentation infrastructure
- Documentation from test requirements to the final test report
Related/Background:
- Australians to Study Effects of Electromagnetic Environment on F-35 | Interference Technology
- spendergast: F-35 loses fight in close and at long-range
- spendergast: Sweetman on JSF/F-35 Stealth and Future
- spendergast: JSF F-35 Has Some Test Success, Problems Persist - DoD continues, USMC real soon
- spendergast: Can a PM really speed up a program by cutting Operational tests?
- Electromagnetic effects research - JSF Iron Bird | DST Group
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