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

Millenium 7*HistoryTech has this interesting video concerning the low availability rates of the F-35:


The F-35 is doomed to low readiness, if this doesn't change...
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It would appear that just in time logistics is a serious problem for the F-35 especially in a war time situation especially if it's a prolonged war, in war time JIT logistics would appear to be false economy.
 
Just a cool picture:

75SQN%203.jpg.iieKorPnMZUZL89jwCUA.9EDI7rOR47.jpg
 
Alex Hollings from Sandboxx has just put out a video about the F-35 takeoff and landings from a Finnish highway:


On September 4, 2024, two U.S. Air Force F-35As from the 493rd Fighter Squadron conducted austere landing operations on a highway strip in Finland, only about 100 miles from the Russian border.
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Let's talk about what this exercises was all about, and what it means for the future.
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No doubt the Russians were paying very close attention to this exercise as it was only about 100 miles from the Russian border. One thing that will no doubt be of concern to the Russians is that the F-35 is wired to carry the B61 TN-bomb.

On another note the exercise included the Finnish airforces F/A-18A/B classic Hornets and since they are scheduled to be replaced by the F-35A block 4 in the near future I wonder if the Finns will donate them to the Ukrainians?
 
NMaude said:
On another note the exercise included the Finnish airforces F/A-18A/B classic Hornets and since they are scheduled to be replaced by the F-35A block 4 in the near future I wonder if the Finns will donate them to the Ukrainians?
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I think the Finn ones were C/D models. They might have been later production with the uprated F404 engines too, I'm not entirely sure about that point.
 
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NMaude said:
I just checked the Hornet wikipedia page and you are correct. Since the F/A-18C/D Hornet has austere runway capabilities and can fly off highways and suitable roads this would be very handy for the Ukrainians to have.
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It sounds like they've received a few upgrades over the years including for ASRAAM + JHMCS, they could probably be helpful to the Ukrainians if they were donated. A whole new fighter type is a difficulty to get pilots and support crew trained and get the logistics in place, but the classic Hornet probably would be a better choice than some of the weirder ideas of what fighters could be provided. I wonder how much operations the Ukrainian Air Force does from highways/roadways and how much is just shifting around aircraft from airfield to airfield to avoid the aircraft getting hit on the ground.
 
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Drifting off topic as this is the F-35 thread, last I heard the plan is by the time the Finnish Air Force is finished with their Hornets they will be at the end of their fatigue life so probably (hopefully) only usable for museums and scrapping
 
NMaude said:
On another note the exercise included the Finnish airforces F/A-18A/B classic Hornets and since they are scheduled to be replaced by the F-35A block 4 in the near future I wonder if the Finns will donate them to the Ukrainians?
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The idea isn't new.

yle.fi

Finnish leaders taken aback by Marin's Hornet fighter jet comment

Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) said in Kyiv that Finland should discuss whether its old Hornet fighters could be sent to Ukraine.
yle.fi yle.fi

Currently Finland won't receive their first F-35 in country until 2026 per this https://ilmavoimat.fi/en/-/the-status-of-the-f-35-programme
90cbe46f-7032-ef0f-2291-238d8e1a7e9e


That means there won't be sufficient spare hornets aircraft available until around 2028 and maybe even later. That is a decent time from now, Ukraine could be operating 70+ F-16s by then.

You would also expect the worst and oldest airframes will be retired first, probably airframes the Ukrainians don't want anyway.

TsrJoe said:
Drifting off topic as this is the F-35 thread, last I heard the plan is by the time the Finnish Air Force is finished with their Hornets they will be at the end of their fatigue life so probably (hopefully) only usable for museums and scrapping
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Agree and the Finnish Defense Minister said as much last year.

MINISTER of Defence Antti Kaikkonen (Centre) on Thursday viewed that Finland will need its Hornet fighter jets in the coming years.

“If you look further into the future, when we get the new equipment at the end of the decade, the Hornets will be at the end of their life cycle. Their use value is starting to be pretty low,” he was quoted saying by Helsingin Sanomat.
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www.helsinkitimes.fi

Finland needs Hornet jets in coming years, says minister of defence

MINISTER of Defence Antti Kaikkonen (Centre) on Thursday viewed that Finland will need its Hornet fighter jets in the coming years. “If you look further into the future, when we get the new equipment at the end of the decade, the Hornets will be at the end of their life cycle. Their use value is...
www.helsinkitimes.fi www.helsinkitimes.fi

By 2028 I'd rather see the USAF donate all the pre BLK 10 F-35s... Would certainly shake things up if the Ukraine mess is a still going.
EDIT: :Lot 10...
 
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Ozair said:
By 2028 I'd rather see the USAF donate all the pre BLK 10 F-35s... Would certainly shake things up if the Ukraine mess is a still going.
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That would definitely have Putin and his toadies crapping their collective pants, I can see that happening in the near future as the F-35 has passed the 1,000th unit production milestone and the early block F-35s are now obsolescent. Giving them to the Ukrainians (Along with the spare parts, ground support equipment and needed training) would save the US the cost of upgrading or de-milling the early block F-35s.
 
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) announced its helicopter carrier JS Kaga will conduct flight operations with F-35B Lightning II aircraft in California from October 5 to November 18.
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www.navalnews.com

Japan to Test F-35B Aircraft with JS Kaga off San Diego - Naval News

The JMSDF helicopter carrier JS Kaga will conduct flight operations with F-35B Lightning II aircraft in California from Oct 5 to Nov 18.
www.navalnews.com www.navalnews.com
 
GTX said:

Netherlands To Buy Six More F-35s | Aviation Week Network

The six aircraft are part of a wider defense spending package worth €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion).
aviationweek.com aviationweek.com
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Is that potentially 6 additional ones on top of the 6 extra ones already mentioned late May 2022 in Dutch press?
Or are it the same 6 extra ones (scenario which I assume to be more likely)?
Total for NL is now 46 + 6 = 52, or maybe 46 + 6 (2022) +6 (2024) = 58 ?
 
NMaude said:
I just checked the Hornet wikipedia page and you are correct. Since the F/A-18C/D Hornet has austere runway capabilities and can fly off highways and suitable roads this would be very handy for the Ukrainians to have.
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Road isn't necessarily austere. It's just less developed infrastructure-wise.
Austere capability includes more things - i.e. even lowered service/maintenance requirements, mobile maintenance units, etc.

Hornet is a STOL-capable aircraft with strong chassis - but that's it.
 
The U.S. State Department on Friday announced it has approved the sale of 32 F-35A Joint Strike Fighters to Romania in a deal worth roughly $7.2 billion.

Romania’s deal for the Lockheed Martin-made F-35s will also include F135 engines made by Pratt & Whitney for each jet and a spare engine.
[...]
If the deal is finalized, it could make Romania the third Eastern European country to fly the F-35, in addition to Poland and the Czech Republic.
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www.defensenews.com

US clears F-35 sale to Romania, bolstering NATO’s eastern flank

The approval of the $7.2 billion deal for the fifth-generation fighter comes as NATO allies are worried about Russian aggression.
www.defensenews.com www.defensenews.com
 
Dreamfighter said:
Is that potentially 6 additional ones on top of the 6 extra ones already mentioned late May 2022 in Dutch press?
Or are it the same 6 extra ones (scenario which I assume to be more likely)?
Total for NL is now 46 + 6 = 52, or maybe 46 + 6 (2022) +6 (2024) = 58 ?
Click to expand...

My understanding is that those are new additions.

Regarding the announcement that the UAE was willing to re-open talks to get the F-35, it seems we have a denial:

finance.yahoo.com

UAE does not plan to re-open F-35 fighter jet talks with U.S. - UAE official

The United Arab Emirates does not expect to resume talks with the U.S. about a multi-billion dollar deal for F-35 warplanes, irrespective of who is elected to the White House in November, a senior UAE government official said on Saturday. Reuters reported on Friday that the UAE was planning to...
finance.yahoo.com finance.yahoo.com
 
Which will take them to 75 A's and 40 B's. They are also spending 50m to allow the LHD Trieste to operate B's (despite supposedly being built with this capability from launch including a ski jump and sufficient deck coating).
Funding also for replacing 26 Tranche 1 Eurofighter with 24 fresh replacements and €506m in 2024 alone on GCAP development.

€560m also earmarked for a new Maritime Patrol Aircraft which hasn't been tendered. Overall a respectable 16.8% year on year increase in procurement spending.
 
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