Farnborough 2012: Close up view of the mysterious F-35’s multimission pod.

July 10, 2012 F-35, Farnborough 2012

David Cenciotti

F-35 Multimission pod — The F-35 Multi Mission Pod on display at the Terma's booth at FIA12. (All images: Author)

Interesting new pod for the F-35 on display at FIA12.

I was visiting the booth of Terma, a Danish firm, at Farnborough International Airshow 2012 last day, when I stumbled upon an interesting “F-35 Multi Mission Pod”.

The F-35 pod is a full monocoque composite structure in carbon fiber that can be used to expand the JSF’s special mission capabilities, by allowing the plane to fly “Next Generation EW and ISR systems, such as Jammers and EO sensors” as well as an external cannon.

Here’s a shot I took of the pod:

The F-35 Multi Mission Pod on display at the Terma’s booth at FIA12. (All images: Author)

Since, it was engineered and flown in February 2012 I wonder whether it actually contained a 25 mm cannon (as Naval Air Systems Command affirmed at the time) when it appeared underneath the F-35 for the first time on Feb. 22, 2012.

Indeed, I can’t see any clear sign of a barrel coming out of it in the images available so far. But it may use a new system I don’t know yet…

Anyway, here below you get a back view of the pod.

Farnborough 2012: This is the most advanced flight helmet, ever. The F-35′s Helmet Mounted Display System (theaviationist.com)
Photo: F-35B Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft doing aileron roll with asymmetric weapons load (theaviationist.com)

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

nico says:

July 11, 2012 at 1:31 AM

Does that mean that if the pod is certified and cleared, they could just swap these in/out ? Seems like an excellent idea from LMT….
Ano N. Ymous says:

July 11, 2012 at 10:42 AM

This unit differs from the one seen in the February photos in some details. The black panels are different from the ones in the other unit. Most interestingly the Feb unit seems to have a notch, or perhaps another black feature where the tip of the “pod” merges with the leading edge of the “pylon.” This is exactly where I’d expect a cannon to shoot through.
Paladin says:

September 14, 2017 at 8:10 PM

Does the flight software enable air to air engagements?