The JSF fleet was again grounded for two weeks in August after a failure of the aircraft’s integrated power package during test runs. Nevertheless, Lockheed Martin had surpassed its 2011 flight test targets for the F-35 by year-end, completing 972 flights for the year, beating a full-year target of 872. The number of test points was also surpassed by more than 1,000, and Lockheed claimed that if the pace of flying was maintained, it could exceed its 2012 target as well.

History was made when F-35B BF-2 executed the first at-sea vertical landing on the USS Wasp (LHD 1) on Oct. 3, with Lt. Col. Fred Schenk at the controls. Two weeks of further short takeoff, vertical landing, ship systems integration, and deck and hangar operations testing followed. Earlier in the year, F-35As began arriving at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Fla., in anticipation of instructor training. The first two F-35Bs joined them in January.

The F-35 was named the victor in Japan’s F-X competition, where it was up against Boeing’s Super Hornet and EADS’ Typhoon, in a major boost for the program. A late November rumor that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was to begin airframe construction of Japan’s own ATD-X stealth fighter demonstrator added some intrigue.

The two-year slip in F-35 deliveries could affect purchases by JSF partners, including Australia, which is likely to buy more Super Hornets to fill a fighter gap left by retirement of its legacy Hornets.

Still, as Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said in a joint press conference with Panetta in November, “There is no fifth-generation aircraft other than the F-35 available to Canada and the United States. So all of the hypothetical discussions and negative discussions, quite frankly, about this program are really just clatter and noise.”

MacKay declared that the program “is going ahead” and affirmed Canada’s commitment to buy 65 aircraft to begin in 2016 despite not having signed a binding contract with Lockheed Martin. Late November saw the company finish construction of the first STOVL Lightning for the U.K., an aircraft that will join the test fleet but whose tasking and future remain cloudy.

The Air Force resumed F-22 operations and training despite not having definitively identified problems that led to a four-month grounding of the 158-aircraft fleet beginning in May. Problems with the F-22’s Onboard Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS) were initially thought to be the cause of a fatal crash and the source of toxins found in the blood of some of the USAF’s 400 Raptor pilots, all of whom lost their cockpit currency during the grounding and had to be requalified.

Another grounding affected F-22s at the 1st Fighter Wing at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., in late October, though it lasted only two days. Raptors were grounded at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, as well, though the rest of the fleet flew as normal.

As the Raptors sat, another fifth-generation fighter walked through its preliminary flight test stages as two Russian Sukhoi T-50 or PAK-FA prototypes completed 100 test flights. A third prototype, supposedly with avionics/mission systems, made its first flight late in November. The T-50 reportedly incorporates stealth, with a range of 2,000 kilometers, a cruising speed of Mach 1.8, and a cost of less than $100 million. Its projected stealth, performance, and price persuaded India to enter into joint production of the aircraft. Russia’s long-held position as India’s dominant arms supplier and its willingness to share all T-50 technology clinched the deal. The two sides agreed to build up to 300 over 10 years in a deal estimated to be worth $35 billion.

Another factor in India’s decision is undoubtedly the initial steps China is taking with its J-20 fifth-generation fighter, first publicly revealed shortly after the new year. Its potential stealth capability is a challenge in the region, particularly if the aircraft is eventually supplied to Pakistan. Late-year rumors suggested at least some of the stealth technology incorporated in the J-20 was learned/borrowed from an F-117 stealth bomber shot down over Serbia in 1999.

Despite the T-50 agreement, India forged ahead with its Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition. Among impending fighter buys, the MMRCA deal is for the largest number of aircraft, with a minimum purchase of 126 expected. The contract award, as always with this decade-long effort, slipped – to 2012. Dassault’s Rafale and EADS’ Typhoon remain in the running after other competitors, including Boeing’s Super Hornet, were eliminated in late 2010/early 2011.

Switzerland announced the winner of its F-5 replacement program in early December, and it was the Saab Gripen, which brings to five the number of countries’ air forces that have bought the Swedish fighter.

The RAF gained real-world strike experience with the Eurofighter Typhoon for much of the year as U.K. Typhoons flew more than 650 sorties over Libya in NATO Operation Unified Protector, logging more than 3,000 hours. Serviceability was maintained at 99 percent, with one precautionary engine change for one of the aircraft. Early in the campaign the Typhoon’s defensive aids subsystem was used to provide situational awareness for Tornado GR4s, which performed laser target designation for the Typhoons before a sufficient number of LITENING pods were integrated onto the aircraft.