British team completes 600 mph ejection tests for F-35 aircraft

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This amazing video shows tests led by British engineers on the ejection system for the F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft. It shows a full-scale front section of the aircraft, complete with ejection seat and mannequin, launched down Martin Baker's test track at Chalgrove Airfield in Oxfordshire at speeds in excess of 600mph.

The industry team included BAE Systems as prime sub contractor to Lockheed Martin on the F-35 programme, with Martin Baker responsible for producing the US16E ejection seat, a derivative of the Mk 16 family of seats.

Rick Whittaker, BAE Systems’ test manager, said: “Ejecting from an aircraft like F-35 typically takes no more than three seconds from the time the ejection handle is pulled to the pilot being on a parachute. You can imagine how quickly everything happens. Incredibly, during the tests up to 900,000 measurements were recorded every second. The systems performed really well.”

The escape system standard that underwent the final tests is now being implemented into the production aircraft.