Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

NMaude said:
Some sort of spring-loaded conformal stealth-flap that closes over the exposed fittings when the tank pylon (No doubt attached to the drop-tank) is jettisoned?
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It's being talked about for 3 decades by now(together with some wider V-shaped pylons to at least lessen reflector trap&secondary reflections).
Maybe until China's rise there was no need, and attempts were half-handed and underfunded.
Or maybe attempts were indeed perfectly serious - and it just didn't work that well; current work on F-22 pylons/tanks is an attempt to at least somewhat mitigate the problem.
 
[...]
Capt. Melanie “MACH” Kluesner will take the place of Maj. Kristin “BEO” Wolfe after she completed four years with the F-35 Demo Team.
[...]
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Sources:
theaviationist.com

U.S. Air Force F-16 And F-35 Demo Teams Announce Their New Pilots

Capt. Taylor "FEMA" Hiester and Capt. Melanie “MACH” Kluesner became the new certified pilots of the F-16 Viper Demo Team and F-35A Lightning II Demo
theaviationist.com theaviationist.com
www.388fw.acc.af.mil

F-35 Demo Team announces new pilot and commander

U.S. Air Force Capt. Melanie “MACH” Kluesner, an F-35A Lightning II pilot assigned to the 421st Fighter Squadron, became the new certified pilot and commander of the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration
www.388fw.acc.af.mil
Edit: She comes from a USAF family. Both parents and her husband were / are pilots.
View: https://youtu.be/D1F1lvyKAIg?si=PkxmbxV2XWMsRA5d
 
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You wouldn't have thought there'd be enough difference between the different B61s to necessitate separate qualification.
 
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My thoughts too when I read it online Forest Green, unless the newer B-61-12 uses a different fuse or method of loading that negates seperate qualification.
 
www.defense.gov

F-35 Program Achieves Milestone C and Full Rate Production

The Milestone Decision Authority and Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Dr. William A. LaPlante approved the Milestone C / Full Rate Production of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft
www.defense.gov
breakingdefense.com

Pentagon finally approves F-35 for full rate production after 5-year delay - Breaking Defense

The "Milestone C" decision is a crucial moment signifying the department's confidence in the performance of the F-35 and maturity of Lockheed Martin's production system, though the plane has been in service for years.
breakingdefense.com breakingdefense.com
 
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At last been a long time coming. I have been waiting for this day for years, I would think that after this decision this will help the overall price to come down and help with the further exporting of the F-35.
 
Defense updates has put out a video about the JSF programme finally entering the FRP phase:


Almost 23 years after Lockheed Martin secured the Joint Strike Fighter contract, the Pentagon declared on March 12 that the F-35 has received approval to commence full-rate production.
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The F-35A has been operational with the Air Force since 2016.
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While the designation may seem somewhat inconsequential, as the F-35 production enterprise is already operating near its capacity, it signifies that the Joint Program Office is now able to engage in negotiations for multiyear contracts for the fighter.
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The service continues to pursue a planned fleet of 1,763 aircraft.
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In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how the US is surging ahead in 5th gen fighter race with full-rate production approval for the F-35 ?
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GTX said:
www.twz.com

How F-35s Deployed To A Narrow Highway In California

The War Zone was on the scene for VMX-1’s exercise Obsidian Iceberg, that served as a glimpse of what’s to come in the Pacific.
www.twz.com www.twz.com
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What tickled me was one particular comment in the article by VMX-1’s Operational Test Director, Lt. Col. Robert ‘Champ’ Guyette...
“I'm really excited. One of the things I didn't anticipate coming to this job was how excited I would be to learn how to kill submarines. Marines just like killing everything, you know, I mean, it's what we do. And so the opportunity to kill something new is exciting. And so submarines are on the menu now for the Marine Corps."

One of the postings in the comments said "This might be just about the most Marine thing I have ever read. So this is why they gave space to the AF instead of the Navy... Can't trust the Marines not to initiate a hostile "first contact" when presented with the opportunity to put a new species on the menu.".
 
NMaude said:
Has an F-35B landed in Finland yet? If so that will give senior officials in the Russian MoD some serious heartburn;):D.
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Never understood what's the particular difference. It's weird, but still peacetime between NATO and Russia.
If it won't be, a particular place and even the composition of countries won't matter.

F-35 fleet(always understood to be dual-capable) is a long-known reality, understood for two decades.
 
James1978 said:

F-35A officially certified to carry nuclear bomb​

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Ah, just this month then! (8Mar2024 is the announcement date)

And just the -12 variant, none of the older versions...


Ronny said:
Isn’t all current USA fighter jet nuclear capable?. They only carry bomb though, and not capable nuclear weapon like ASMP
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There's some specific hardware required in the aircraft to be able to drop/launch nuclear weapons. If you're just ferrying them from base to base, that's a different discussion.

And while I'm sure F15Es and F16s have the equipment to carry and drop nukes, I don't believe the F15C/D or F22 have the equipment.
 
Scott Kenny said:
That greatly surprises me!
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I was surprised too, Germany had at one stage looked at buying the Super Hornet but went instead for the F-35 as the F-35 is nuclear capable to replace Germany's nuclear capable Tornados (I don't know why the Typhoon hasn't been wired to carry special stores).
 
NMaude said:
I was surprised too, Germany had at one stage looked at buying the Super Hornet but went instead for the F-35 as the F-35 is nuclear capable to replace Germany's nuclear capable Tornados (I don't know why the Typhoon hasn't been wired to carry special stores).
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Probably because the UK doesn't have air-dropped nukes anymore.
 
Only the classic Hornet (F/A-18A-D) was wired and certified to deploy a tactical nuclear bomb. The US Navy, decided unter POTUS Bush 41 and finalised under POTUS Clinton 42, scraped this capability in the mid 1990s. In other topics we have already discussed, why the Eurofighter Typhoon and Super Hornet haven't been certified for this special role.
 
BlackBat242 said:
What tickled me was one particular comment in the article by VMX-1’s Operational Test Director, Lt. Col. Robert ‘Champ’ Guyette...
“I'm really excited. One of the things I didn't anticipate coming to this job was how excited I would be to learn how to kill submarines. Marines just like killing everything, you know, I mean, it's what we do. And so the opportunity to kill something new is exciting. And so submarines are on the menu now for the Marine Corps."

One of the postings in the comments said "This might be just about the most Marine thing I have ever read. So this is why they gave space to the AF instead of the Navy... Can't trust the Marines not to initiate a hostile "first contact" when presented with the opportunity to put a new species on the menu.".
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I assume they mean surfaced submarines?
 
sferrin said:
I assume they mean surfaced submarines?
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No... this is part of the article I linked:
Another major part of Obsidian Iceberg 23.1 was building interoperability with the Navy for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). Planners brought in an MH-60R from Helicopter Maritime Strike Weapons School Pacific (HSMWSP) and conducted joint service torpedo loading and unloading using a recoverable exercise torpedo known as a REXTORP. This coincides with VMX-1’s parallel efforts with the anti-submarine warfare development that they are doing with their MV-22Bs known as ‘Blue Crayons.’

Recently a low-cost acoustic processor (LCAP) capability has been successfully demonstrated at VMX-1 to generate and then transmit over Link-16 undersea track files, while also deploying sonobuoys from the MV-22. Guyette explained, “Finding, fixing and tracking undersea targets from an MV-22 brings a lot of capability in INDOPACOM in terms of speed and agility, and the ability to put an active or passive sonar field into critical choke points. It enables the joint force to do their anti-submarine mission in a resource-constrained environment.”

In the large areas of ocean that make up the Pacific, Marines were quick to realize that the MV-22B could be a major player with its long range and refueling capability which the Navy MH-60Rs do not have. Teaming up Marine MV-22s with Navy MH-60Rs and P-8s could certainly be a game changer.Guyette added “I'm really excited. One of the things I didn't anticipate coming to this job was how excited I would be to learn how to kill submarines. Marines just like killing everything, you know, I mean, it's what we do. And so the opportunity to kill something new is exciting. And so submarines are on the menu now for the Marine Corps. Developing a capability to hold air-breathing, surface, land and subsurface targets at risk, from a forward position that is survivable, broad spectrum low signature, you present a very challenging thorny problem for the adversary, when it's very difficult to see you. And very quickly, you can drop into somewhere and re-energize your capability to basically hit them where it hurts everywhere, which is exciting.”
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sferrin said:
Thought we were talking about F-35s. In the early days the V-22 was proposed as an ASW aircraft.

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The article, and the statement from the Colonel, were about 3 aircraft... the F-35B, the MV-22B, and the MH-60R - and about the exercise that was focused on using all 3 together in different ways to expand warfighting capability across both the USMC and USN.
 
Defense Updates has just uploaded a video about the F-35A being certified for carrying the B61-12:


The Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has been certified for the use of the B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bomb, news portal Breaking Defense reported on 8 March 2024, citing a spokesman for the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), Russ Goemaere.
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The nuclear certification of the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) JSF variant was achieved on 12 October 2023, months ahead of an undertaking made to NATO allies that the certification would be in place by 2024.
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This will make the F-35A a “dual-capable” fighter that can carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, Breaking Defense quoted Goemaere as saying.
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In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how B61-Mod 12 nuke-equipped F-35A will augment the power of the U.S. & allies?
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#defenseupdates #f35 #B61mod12
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Chapters:
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00:11 INTRODUCTION
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02:00 B-61 MOD 12 CAPABILITY
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05:18 F-35 FLEET as B-61 Mod 12 carrier
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06:23 DETERRENCE VALUE
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07:58 ANALYSIS
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Ronny said:
do F-35 have any kind of weapon that can even hurt a submarine
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On the surface, plenty. Remember the RN engaged ARA Santa Fe at Grytviken with AS-12 and MGs after she'd been forced to the surface. (Fairly sure Santa Fe's the last submarine directly targeted in combat).
 

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