Lockheed Martin F-35 Thread

Avimimus said:
Great thread guys ;)

Of course, a number of the arguments in this thread amount to: 'if we didn't need it in the past, there is no way we'll need it in the future' ...so let's pay three times as much. If Canada doesn't need increased performance to accomplish its missions - than why not buy more CF-18s?

Can you make the case?

I'm enjoying this thread btw.


The biggest problem with the more CF-18 argument is simply "From where?". The Hornet, even in its C version has been out of production for a number of years now. Sure you could buy some second hand ones and 'refresh' them but that can be a less then cost effective solution (and both Canada and Australia have certainly looked and have some experience with this).
 
TaiidanTomcat said:
How is it different!? Before the F-35 Canadian Fighters never had to refuel in the air- ever! This is completely new. It will require advanced training for Canadians:

"Take that hockey stick looking thing there eh, and stick in that conical hockey net ya hoser."

We are talking ferry range people. This is no joke. Ferry Range. The penultimate decider of combat success.

Canada is seemingly getting bigger somehow, and now even more range is required. Its also getting even colder I guess. These are all problems that can not be solved by 21st century tech --there is no way we can make modifications to improve performance on icy runways, nor can we invent some kind of external dropable fuel tanks. These primitive "jettisonable gas holding tubes" if you will (working title) could never be added to an aircraft to improve the F-35s already impressive internal fuel capacity.

It finally happened. Canada expanded to the point where no technology could possibly contain it.

::)
 
Aside from few politicians, there seems to be the consensus that F-35 will be more expensive on per unit basis that all other alternatives. So the argument should be whether the extra capability can justify the extra cost.


Canadian requirements are somewhat different than most other countries buying F-35. More than 90% of the time, these planes will be used to patrol the 2nd largest country in the world. The remaining 10% will be spent enforcing no-flying zone over the most recent peacekeeping adventure. Any other missions are DND's wet dream. The idea that Canada would risk one of its precious fighters in first-day NATO assault on well-defended enemy is quite ludicrous. As to actually defending Canada, I cannot see a situation where Canada is attacked and the US stands by and does nothing.
 
AdamF said:
Aside from few politicians, there seems to be the consensus that F-35 will be more expensive on per unit basis that all other alternatives. So the argument should be whether the extra capability can justify the extra cost.


Canadian requirements are somewhat different than most other countries buying F-35. More than 90% of the time, these planes will be used to patrol the 2nd largest country in the world. The remaining 10% will be spent enforcing no-flying zone over the most recent peacekeeping adventure. Any other missions are DND's wet dream. The idea that Canada would risk one of its precious fighters in first-day NATO assault on well-defended enemy is quite ludicrous. As to actually defending Canada, I cannot see a situation where Canada is attacked and the US stands by and does nothing.

Then you really don't need an air force. If you actually believe the jets are too risky to use in overseas combat, and all home defense can be provided by the US, You are wasting your money completely. The Canadian Armed forces are just a money pit in the above scenario.

And please don't pretend like that 90/10 split is unique to Canada --the Majority of F-35 operators (even the US) are going to spend more time training and patrolling at home, or in small overseas locations, or over an aircraft carrier. than they will in combat ops. Air campaigns have rarely exceeded 2 months the last 25 years.
 
Sure, a good argument can be made that Canada does not need a supersonic fighter at all.


However, DND is going to buy some eventually and I'd like to make up my mind whether F-35 is the best choice or not. Have any good solid arguments for or against?
 
AdamF said:
Sure, a good argument can be made that Canada does not need a supersonic fighter at all.


However, DND is going to buy some eventually and I'd like to make up my mind whether F-35 is the best choice or not. Have any good solid arguments for or against?

I am definitely for and this is a website that looks beyond simple headlines and even talks to the people intimately involved in the program. Its a treasure trove of what the F-35 can do that other platforms simply can't.

http://www.sldinfo.com/?s=F-35&Go=GO
 
AdamF said:
Combat radius for F-35 has just been reduced to 1,080 km (583 nmi) according to http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pentagon-agrees-to-f-35a-combat-radius-reduction-369287/
That is old info. They decided to take the same cruise assumptions that they use on the B/C and apply them to the A. They now estimate 613nm.

http://insidedefense.com/201203012392003/Inside-Defense-General/Public-Articles/pentagon-waters-down-difficult-to-achieve-jsf-performance-requirements/menu-id-926.html
 
SpudmanWP said:
That is old info. They decided to take the same cruise assumptions that they use on the B/C and apply them to the A. They now estimate 613nm.


Thanks. Do you have any details on what the change is exactly? I tried to google details of the mission profile, but I got nothing.
 
Flight profile specifics have not been released to the public.
 
It does seem though that not only coverage but also time on station for both the A and C variants has been badly affected by the ongoing structural and other problems. Ironically the B variant doesn't seem to be too badly affected at this point.
 
All three variants are still meeting their KPPs, which includes "time on stations" in the "combat radius" calculations.
 
TaiidanTomcat said:
And please don't pretend like that 90/10 split is unique to Canada --the Majority of F-35 operators (even the US) are going to spend more time training and patrolling at home, or in small overseas locations, or over an aircraft carrier. than they will in combat ops. Air campaigns have rarely exceeded 2 months the last 25 years.

Of course such home-defence patrols are not unique to any country.
However, this is not an argument for ignoring the interception/patrol requirement entirely (and only focussing on the 10%).
Nor is it an argument that Canada geography doesn't have unique requirements...
 
AdamF said:
Sure, a good argument can be made that Canada does not need a supersonic fighter at all.


However, DND is going to buy some eventually and I'd like to make up my mind whether F-35 is the best choice or not. Have any good solid arguments for or against?

Well, the United States currently has more influence in Canada's internal affairs than any other country does and Canadian trade has increasingly swung to the United States (from something like 50% of trade to over 85%). The United States is only offering one modern fighter for export. Therefore it must meet Canada's needs.

IMHO, this is a very sound argument for procurement (at least in terms of how it is viewed by the people who are responsible for these things).
 
Avimimus said:
IMHO, this is a very sound argument for procurement (at least in terms of how it is viewed by the people who are responsible for these things).


Unfortunately, it is a very good argument. But isn't Boeing also selling two different fighters?
 
AdamF said:
Avimimus said:
IMHO, this is a very sound argument for procurement (at least in terms of how it is viewed by the people who are responsible for these things).


Unfortunately, it is a very good argument. But isn't Boeing also selling two different fighters?

There are still people who sell VCRs too. Pretty sure I don't want one. ;-)
 
IMHO there should only be one news thread, and NO discussions about the posts.

Having separate "good" & "bad" threads will just confuse the issues.

Take the discussions to the "no holds barred" thread to hash out.
 
SpudmanWP said:
IMHO there should only be one news thread, and NO discussions about the posts.

Having separate "good" & "bad" threads will just confuse the issues.

Take the discussions to the "no holds barred" thread to hash out.


Agreed.
 
Racking up the Flight Hours: The F-35 strike fighter program surpassed 5,000 flight hours in late November, announced the F-35 program office. All three variants of the stealth fighter—the Air Force's F-35A, Marine Corps' F-35B, and Navy's F-35C—contributed to those flight hours, according to the office's Nov. 30 release. That includes F-35s, both developmental test aircraft and production airframes, flying from Lockheed Martin's production facility in Fort Worth, Tex., as well as at Edwards AFB, Calif., Eglin AFB, Fla., and NAS Patuxent River, Md. The first flight of an F-35 occurred in December 2006. Since then, F-35s have flown more than 3,464 times, according to the program office.
 
I would just have one thread for links to news sites and pictures here; no opinion. Then have a thread for opinions in the bar. Any posts in the "news" thread, that weren't news (based on actual links) or pictures would get edited/deleted. No snark, no B.S, no whatever. Just straight facts here, good or bad. The readers can make up their own minds to what it all means and fester over in the bar if it bothers them. IMHO.
 
I found a Spear video on MBDA's website and hosted it on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPpfoak-LQA
 
Federal government (Canada) cancels F-35 fighter purchase: source

The F-35 jet fighter purchase, the most persistent thorn in the Harper government’s side and the subject of a devastating auditor-general’s report last spring, is dead.

Michael Den Tandt : Published: December 6, 2012, 1:46 pm : Updated: 21 mins ago

http://o.canada.com/2012/12/06/1107-col-dentandt/

The F-35 jet fighter purchase, the most persistent thorn in the Harper government’s side and the subject of a devastating auditor-general’s report last spring, is dead.

Faced with the imminent release of an audit by accountants KPMG that will push the total projected life-cycle costs of the aircraft above $30 billion, the operations committee of the federal Cabinet decided Tuesday evening to scrap the controversial sole-source program and go back to the drawing board, a source familiar with the decision said.

This occurred after Chief of the Defence Staff Thomas Lawson, while en route overseas, was called back urgently to appear before the committee, the source said.

The decision is sure to have ripple effects around the world, as any reduction in the number of aircraft on order causes the price to go up for all the other buyers. Canada is one of nine F-35 consortium members, including the United States.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay is not a member of the Cabinet operations committee. It remains unclear whether he was present at the meeting Tuesday. However, MacKay is a member of the Cabinet Priorities and Planning committee, which was to discuss the F-35 decision Friday morning.

The CF-18s currently flown by the RCAF are at the tail end of their life cycle and are not expected to be operable much beyond 2020 at the outside.

The fighter procurement process has been the responsibility of Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose since last spring, following an audit by Auditor General Michael Ferguson. It is understood that veteran senior bureaucrat Tom Ring, who handled the government’s much-praised shipbuilding contract process in the fall of 2011, is now steering the reframed fighter replacement process, from within Public Works.

Last spring, Ferguson ignited a political firestorm when he reported that the top-line cost cited by the Conservatives in the 2011 election campaign – $9-billion for 65 planes, or $15-billion including maintenance and other life-cycle costs – was $10-billion below the Defence department’s internal estimate.

Even the internal figure of $25.1-billion was suspect, critics said, because it assumed a 20-year life cycle. The longevity of the Lockheed-Martin-built aircraft, according to the Pentagon, is 36 years.

KPMG’s audit, due out next week, has confirmed the contention, long made by critics such as former assistant deputy minister (materiel) Alan Williams, that the F-35 program’s real cost would be much higher than any previously stated government estimate, sources say.

Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page predicted a cost of $30 billion over a 30-year life cycle.

Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose, who took on the F-35 file after Ferguson’s audit, has been signalling since last spring that she was unhappy with the procurement process. On Nov. 22 in the House of Commons, Ambrose said the government is committed to “a full evaluation of all choices, not simply a refresh.”

Lawson, in an appearance before the House of Commons defence committee Nov. 29, further opened the door when he confirmed what industry critics have long said: the F-35 is not the only modern fighter with measures to evade radar, though it is considered to be the most advanced in this respect. “Is there only one airplane that can meet the standard of stealth that’s set out in the statement of requirements?” Liberal defence critic John McKay asked. Lawson’s answer: “No.”

The F-35’s unique stealthiness had long been advanced as the single most compelling argument for buying that plane.

Also in the mix, former Industry Minister David Emerson last week published a report on the aerospace and space sectors, calling on Ottawa to more aggressively press for Industrial and Regional Benefits (IRBs) and In-Service Support (ISS) contracts when inking procurement deals. Lockheed-Martin has in the past been reluctant to hand over its proprietary technology to clients. Industry insiders believe the Emerson report added impetus to the decision to start over.

Boeing’s Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale, Saab’s Gripen, the Eurofighter Typhoon , and the F-35, are seen as the leading contenders in any new contest to replace the CF-18 fleet.
 
Cost of buying, servicing F-35 fighter jets could reach 40-B: sources

CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 5:24PM EST
Last Updated Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 5:52PM EST


Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/cost-of-buying-servicing-f-35-fighter-jets-could-reach-40b-sources-1.1069258#ixzz2EKBhRFAX

The cost of buying and servicing the F-35 stealth fighter jets that Ottawa has been planning to purchase could reach $40 billion, CTV News has learned ahead of the government’s report on the financial implications of the program.

The report, which will be released next week, will kick off a review of the entire jet fighter procurement process and the need to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18 jets.

The Conservative government’s plan to purchase 65 F-35 jets has been mired in controversy since a scathing auditor general's report accused both National Defence and Public Works of hiding the true cost of the project.

Ottawa said the program would cost between $14.7 billion and $16 billion, but auditor general Michael Ferguson and Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page disputed those figures.

Ferguson accused the Defence Department of low-balling the estimate by not including operating expenses, and said it would actually cost more than $25 billion, but government officials denied trying to hide anything.

Page had estimated it would cost $29.3 billion to purchase and maintain the jets.

Now, it looks like the cost would exceed both of those estimates.

Alan Williams, a former senior procurement officer with the federal government, said the price of the “complex” jet program has been going up since Ottawa initiated the procurement process.

“We ought to wait until the development is done and the platform is operational,” he told CTV’s Power Play Thursday.

“But we dipped our toes into the water much too early in the program, without knowing the cost or the capability. And that’s why we’re saddled with this situation today.”

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel said the government is committed to being transparent on the issue and following the recommendations of the auditor general’s report in April. She said the report on F-35 costs will be made public soon.

“We want to make sure that we get this right and we’re taking it really seriously,” she told Power Play.


Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/cost-of-buying-servicing-f-35-fighter-jets-could-reach-40b-sources-1.1069258#ixzz2EKAnI2Bf
 
http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2012/12/f-35b-drops-second-gbu-12-over.html
 
Posted by NAVAIRSYSCOM on Dec. 5, 2012:

On Dec. 3, an F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft completed the program's first aerial weapons release of an inert 500-pound GBU-12 Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb. The aircraft (BF-3) dropped an inert GBU-12 over the Atlantic Test Ranges from an internal weapons bay. The internal weapons carriage allows the F-35 to maintain a low-observable profile when combat loaded. The F-35B is a short take-off and vertical landing-capable fighter aircraft, designed for use by the U.S. Marine Corps as well as defense partners in the United Kingdom and Italy.

http://youtu.be/nH5_yJNqyQQ
 
The fourth F-35C carrier variant test aircraft ferried to NAS Patuxent River, Md., yesterday
http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.NAVAIRNewsStory&id=5218
 

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Ottawa officially scraps F-35 purchase as audit pegs costs at $45-billion

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-changes-jet-plans-as-audit-pegs-f-35-costs-at-45-billion/article6260601/

Steven Chase - OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are officially recanting their 2 1/2-year-old decision to buy the cutting-edge F-35 fighter plane – but the federal government is still resisting calls to hold an open competition to pick Canada’s next jet purchase.

The Harper government on Wednesday officially announced it was backing off a sole-source plan to buy 65 F-35 Lightning jets as a replacement for Canada’s aging CF-18 Hornets. It was a rare U-turn for an administration that only infrequently acknowledges it was wrong – but one the Tories felt was necessary to repair their fiscal stewardship credentials.

“No decision has been taken on a replacement for the CF-18,” a senior government official told reporters in a not-for-attribution media briefing set up by the Tories so that top civil servants on the file could speak plainly about Ottawa’s new jet purchase policy.

The Conservatives have been dogged for months by a damning auditor general’s report last spring that said they selected the F-35 without due regard for price and availability. Back in July, 2010, the Tories announced to great fanfare they would forgo an open competition and would buy the Lockheed warplane because it was the only plane that would serve Canada’s needs. They defended the decision in the 2011 election and often excoriated critics who suggested they had made a mistake.

On Wednesday, Ottawa made a great show of backing away from that decision – while unveiling a full lifetime cost estimate for the Lockheed Martin plane that is five times greater than what the Tories originally advertised it would cost.

The “cradle-to-grave” bill to taxpayers for buying and operating the controversial F-35 warplane will exceed $600-million per jet – or $45-billion in total, the government announced Wednesday. The Tories originally sold the aircraft as a $9-billion purchase.

The $45-billion lifetime estimate may ultimately prove to be too low if the cash-strapped U.S. government cuts its own order for the F-35 – a move that would increase the average price.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose went to great effort Wednesday to distance themselves from the July, 2010, purchase announcement, an event where Mr. MacKay posed for photos in a dummy version of the fighter. “We are pressing reset on this acquisition in order to ensure a balance between military needs and taxpayer interests,” Mr. MacKay told reporters. “Let me be clear: The government of Canada will not proceed with a decision to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft until all steps … are completed.”

Ottawa formally announced Wednesday it’s now shopping around to see if alternatives to the F-35 better meet its needs as a replacement for the aging CF-18 Hornets. The government has acknowledged, however, that it could again decide the F-35 is best for the job. “We’re undertaking a full-options analysis and the F-35 is obviously one of those options,” Ms. Ambrose told reporters.

Still, the government is holding off calling for open bids to build the plane – as opposition parties are demanding – saying they’ll wait for an options analysis led by the Royal Canadian Air Force first.

The new $45-billion F-35 price tag is based on the most expansive definition of costs over a 30-year lifetime for each jet, including fuel as well as upgrades and maintenance. The bill includes 65 planes and as many as 11 spares – a cost that works out to more than $600-million per plane.

The new forecast, which was scrutinized by consulting firm KPMG, looks at costs incurred over a 42-year-period. Less than 20 per cent of the costs are for buying the initial 65 planes. The other 80 per cent are for keeping this fleet operating.

The Canadian government is still assuming the United States will buy a large order of the jets. In one of the documents Ottawa released Wednesday, it said it’s expecting the U.S. and partners will purchase 3,100 jets – a number that’s expected to fall as Washington, heavily in debt, trims its order.

The government said the overall price tag for Canada will rise by $500-million for every reduction of 400 aircraft that are cut from international orders. That’s because there would be fewer economies of scale to be derived from mass production.

Separately, the Harper government trimmed its estimates for the maximum industrial benefits Canadian companies might win for supplying the F-35 production. This country’s firms are only able to compete for work related to the warplane because Canada joined a consortium of countries planning on buying the jets.

The government said now it believes the maximum potential industrial benefits from F-35 supply work would be $9.8-billion – instead of the $12-billion Ottawa previously touted. So far Canadian companies have secured $438-million in work.

Also, the Harper government has redrawn the list of independent monitors who will oversee the hunt for alternatives to the F-35 Lightning fighter after retired general Charles Bouchard bowed out. He is replaced by former senior civil servant James Mitchell of consulting group Sussex Circle. The others remain the same, including ex-Communications Security Establishment chief Keith Coulter, a former fighter pilot; former federal comptroller-general Rod Monette, who also served as a senior bureaucrat in National Defence; and University of Ottawa professor Philippe Lagassé, an outspoken critic of the jet procurement.

The Harper government is going shopping for alternatives to the controversial F-35 in the most significant demonstration yet that it is prepared to walk away from its first choice for a new warplane.

To demonstrate that they are restarting the procurement process from scratch, Canadian officials will collect information from other plane manufacturers, including U.S.-based Boeing, maker of the Super-Hornet, and the consortium behind the Eurofighter Typhoon. They may also contact Sweden’s Saab, manufacturer of the Gripen, and France’s Dassault, maker of the Rafale.

The ballooning lifetime cost of the F-35 fighter and Ottawa’s decision to shop around for alternatives are creating panic among Canadian companies betting on supply contracts for the Lockheed Martin plane, sources have said.

The government aims to complete this reappraisal of what the fighter aircraft market can offer Canada as expeditiously as possible in 2013.

Government officials said Wednesday that Ottawa has not decided whether to call for competitive bids to supply a plane and will await the results of the options analysis.

Canada has signed no contract to buy F-35s, and while it has signalled to Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer, that it wants 65, it has no obligation to buy them.

It did sign a memorandum of understanding in 2006 that set the terms by which a country would buy the aircraft and also enabled domestic companies to compete for supply contracts for the plane.
 
F-35 Fast Facts for Dec 11th, 2012

http://f-35.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/F-35-Fast-Facts-December-11-2012.pdf

Previously unreported Tidbits:
-- On November 3, CF-2 flew an HMD Jitter FTR mission completing first pilot evaluation.
-- On November 14, during setup for a 45,000 ft test point, AF-4 flew to 50,000 ft, the design altitude limit. This is the first time F-35 has flown to 50K.
-- On November 30, BF-1 accomplished the longest duration F-35 hover at 10 minutes.
-- On December 3, BF-1 accomplished its 200th vertical landing at PAX and completed maximum weight hover, vertical landing and 90 degree translation on December 6.
-- On December 6, BF-4 flew the first STOVL mode night ops, including night hover.
 
Not Precisely news, Dated March, 27, 2012
But, IMO very illustrative

http://youtu.be/qF29GBSpRF4
 
Bad news in Canada (can't afford the numbers they need), mixed news in Australia (looking at another 24 Shornets due to previous JSF delays), better news in Britain (order holding at 48, looking to buy as many as 100 over time). Best read at the jump.

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20121215/DEFREG02/312150002/Experts-Canada-s-Potential-F-35-Cut-Would-Hurt-Mission?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
 
Turkey Quietly Orders Navy F-35 (http://www.menewsline.com/article-1173,27679-Turkey-Quietly-Orders-Navy-F-35.aspx)
 
Why do they need the Navy version?. Is Turkey going to order an LHA/LHD ship?
 
Turkey is building a LHA or equiv. they are reportedly ordering the CV variant (not STOVL) though. It could be a typo or possibly misreporting of the STOVL.
 
AETC declares Eglin ready for F-35 training
12/17/2012 - EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla -- Following an independent evaluation of Eglin's capability to conduct F-35A Lightning II pilot training, Air Education and Training Command announced today the 33rd Fighter Wing can do so, starting in January.
http://www.eglin.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123330196
 
A little Stars and Stripes blurb. http://www.stripes.com/news/panetta-says-first-f-35-overseas-deployment-planned-for-iwakuni-1.201222
Panetta Says First F-35 Overseas Deployment Planned for Iwakuni

...“We are also enhancing our presence and capabilities in the region,” Panetta said. “That includes reallocating the naval fleet to achieve in these next few years a 60/40 split between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans — hopefully, we will do that by 2020 — increasing Army and Marine presence in the region after Iraq and Afghanistan, locating our most advanced aircraft in the Pacific, including new deployments of F-22s and the MV-22 Ospreys to Japan, and laying the groundwork for the first overseas deployment of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Iwakuni in 2017”...
I'm a little surprised the guy already has a time and place in mind.
 
Lockheed Martin F-35: News ONLY topic

Some posts had to be removed again, sorry.
Please read the very first post in this thread again and stick to it !
 
Norway Wants To Have Its First F-35 In Norway By 2017

http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2012/12/19/norway-wants-to-have-its-first-f-35-in-norway-by-2017/

Norwegian Minister of Defence Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, who Monday [Dec 17th] met with US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta at the Pentagon.

- Our goal is to introduce a bill to Parliament early 2013 which allows us to receive the first aircraft to Norway in 2017. We have already ordered two aircraft for training purposes that are to be delivered in 2015, followed by another two in 2016, but these are to be based in the US. This new order is therefore a new major milestone for us.

Our cost estimates remain stable and we are confident in our choice.

I understand that some partner nations are currently making an effort to ensure that their respective fighter procurement processes are as comprehensive and as well structured as they can be, and this is to be expected – this is after all a major investment. We have no doubt, however, that this is a necessary investment and that it will help strengthen the ability of our Armed Forces to contribute to Norwegian security for several decades to come, concludes Ms Strøm-Erichsen.
More at the Jump
 

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