After reading about the Lynx MOSA.ic framework I got a question guys.I'm quite puzzled about what had actually changed inside the processor instruction set during the shifting from TR-2 to TR-3.
 
Anyone have ever seem anything about the EF-35 concept?
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I can remember there was a dedicated EW variant of F-35 concept but now the only evidence I can found is this image, and it is from an article that was translated into chinese, published in 2009. Try searching "EF-35" on all searching engine returns with nothing. Are there anyone have more information?
 
Anyone have ever seem anything about the EF-35 concept?

I can remember there was a dedicated EW variant of F-35 concept but now the only evidence I can found is this image, and it is from an article that was translated into chinese, published in 2009. Try searching "EF-35" on all searching engine returns with nothing. Are there anyone have more information?
There was a plan to integrate the NGJ onto the F-35 but that plan was dropped in 2012, https://www.flightglobal.com/in-foc...egration-deferred-indefinitely/105240.article

It was the USMC that was most keen but their work with the XQ-58 in recent years shows they have moved on,
The XQ-58A’s advanced EA payload autonomously detected, identified, and geolocated multiple tactically relevant targets of interest, transmitted emitter target track coordinates to collaborative assets, and successfully presented non-kinetic electronic attack effects against multiple emitters.
 
The Yak-130 can carry R-73/74 with the addition of external hardpoints but that is about it really.
 
Calling the Yak-130 a fighter is a bit of a stretch

The Yak-130 can carry R-73/74 with the addition of external hardpoints but that is about it really.

"...
However, the Yak-130 also has nine hard points: two wingtip, six under-wing and one beneath the centre fuselage. It can carry a wide range of modern weapons and other stores, including external wing combat fuel tanks, bombs weighing up to 500kg (1,100lb), TV homing/cockpit-displayed guided bombs, rockets, a twin 23mm gun pod, R-73 infrared-homing air-to-air missiles, and electronic countermeasures pods and chaff and flare dispensers, up to a maximum combat load of 3,000kg.
The type also has a head-up display (HUD) and a helmet-mounted sighting system (HMSS) with a double GPS/GLONASS receiver updating a laser ring gyro inertial navigation system for highly accurate navigation and precision targeting. This transforms its capability into a highly potent light ground attack/fighter.

... "

 
If it was they would have had it on the Pentagon briefing that happened earlier on today UK time which was fascinating to watch.
 
Sandboxx has a short video out about Israel's first air-to-air victory with its' F-35I:


An Israeli F-35I has reportedly scored the platform’s first air-to-air victory against a crewed aircraft, downing an Iranian Yak-130 over Tehran. While F-35s from multiple nations have shot down uncrewed drones in combat before, this marks the first air-to-air victory against a piloted aircraft for the most technologically advanced fighter in service today.​
 
Nice find zjz. Interesting to see the gun door being open when the gun is being fired.
 


Same story, price for 36 airframes has risen by 1.1bn Swiss Francs (around 18%) so they will order 30 airframes which will still require a 400m increase on the original budget. That's a contract price increase per airframe of around 116m Swiss Francs ($150m per airframe).

also Switzerland been told the Patriot they ordered will be delivered 4-5 years late (and that was in Feb before the Middle East conflict) so they are shopping for a complementary buy of a European air defence system.
 
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also Switzerland been told the Patriot they ordered will be delivered 4-5 years late (and that was in Feb before the Middle East conflict) so they are shopping for a complementary buy of a European air defence system.
The Swiss ordered 5 IRIS-T SLM systems last year to cover their medium range requirement. If they want long range, then they pretty much have to go for SAMP/T, if they want to bolster their medium range capability, then IRIS-T SLM probably has it locked in,
 
So what would Switzerland buy instead of buying the original order of 36 F-35s?
 
That is weird GTX, Switzerland getting less F-35s when the rest of Europe is putting more money into defence spending.
 
They have committed verbally to order more later. The order is capped by the budgetary envelope that was submitted to public approval (direct vote). I think it´s perfectly normal for a democracy to conform itself by the words of a public decision. This does not put a shadow on the F-35 or their supporters in Switzerland but, on the contrary, to the naysayers there that have locked the debate in a stalemate with a rhetorical offensive of empty words, complacently forgetting, for many, how Swiss Dassault Mirage III bill broke the ceiling then by many thousand miles, for example, and how defense spendings scarcely meet preapproval budgets (especially when contracts subtilities are not fully understood by people in charge of negotiations).

Let see when neighbor's France acts similarly ;)
 
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That is good news that Switzerland are keeping the option to buy more F-35s for later TomcatVIP.
 
Here,

Switzerland did signal that follow-on orders for the F-35 may be considered later, once funding and political support allow. It has already pledged to raise defence spending to 1% of GDP by 2032, still well below NATO’s 2% benchmark but a notable shift for a traditionally cautious nation.
 
"Followon orders may be considered later". They have only committed to buying as many aircraft as possible within the original funding envelope.
 
"Followon orders may be considered later". They have only committed to buying as many aircraft as possible within the original funding envelope.
From the article they have stated a need for a larger fleet.
Defence Minister Martin Pfister acknowledged that Switzerland “would require a larger fleet” to meet its stated air-defence requirements of 55 to 70 modern fighters, but said the government was constrained by the outcome of the referendum.
Yes the current funding envelope constraints them but with an intent to increase the defence budget and a requirement for a larger fleet topping up on F-35 is likely. They could of course chose a different aircraft but that would bring significant more expense that the cost conscious Swiss are unlikely to pay for.
How much funding have the Swiss put aside for the F-35 order?
From the article...

The Swiss government said on Friday it could no longer guarantee the purchase of 36 aircraft within the 6 billion-franc (about $6.6 billion) spending cap approved by voters in 2020.
 
This is a very valid point that Gareth makes....its ok for the US as it has multiple manned platforms that can carry APKWS...

But for nations that have F-35 as their sole combat jet (i.e. a good chunk of Europe now, and increasing all the time) there is going to be some serious pressure on Lockheed Martin to get external rocket pods added and operational sharpish...Typhoon and Rafale are already on that path, and I suspect we'll see Gripen in due course....

Can LM react though? Deep as they are in TR-3 and Block IV hell?

I actually think most users would be happy if APKWS/external rocket pods were bumped up to No.1 on the integration list ahead of anything else...

View: https://x.com/GarethJennings3/status/2031810870183932191
 
This is a very valid point that Gareth makes....its ok for the US as it has multiple manned platforms that can carry APKWS...

But for nations that have F-35 as their sole combat jet (i.e. a good chunk of Europe now, and increasing all the time) there is going to be some serious pressure on Lockheed Martin to get external rocket pods added and operational sharpish...Typhoon and Rafale are already on that path, and I suspect we'll see Gripen in due course....

Can LM react though? Deep as they are in TR-3 and Block IV hell?

I actually think most users would be happy if APKWS/external rocket pods were bumped up to No.1 on the integration list ahead of anything else...

View: https://x.com/GarethJennings3/status/2031810870183932191
It is a valid point but I think that ship has sailed. IMO the future of anti-drone isn't fighter based rockets but the fleet of low cost anti-drone interceptors Ukraine is deploying today. By the time F-35 received APKWS there may be enough anti-drone interceptors available to make the integration time and cost a waste.
 
It is a valid point but I think that ship has sailed. IMO the future of anti-drone isn't fighter based rockets but the fleet of low cost anti-drone interceptors Ukraine is deploying today. By the time F-35 received APKWS there may be enough anti-drone interceptors available to make the integration time and cost a waste.

Low cost drone interceptors will be part of the mix, but the ability to deal with higher speed drones and cruise missiles that are likely to be included in any barrage is still there. It's what the Russian's do...mix them up to saturate defences.
 
I think the key to counter-Shahed air defense is the airborne component. A large, subsonic platform like the MQ-25 could carry a powerful sensor, a large load of AGR-20s, and can loiter in a sector for a long time. Ground-based defenses are very manpower-intensive because the sensors and effectors have a shorter range. The Ukrainians can support that (and they don't have the ability to field large aircraft near the FLOC), but someone like Belgium can't. An effective aerial component would relegate ground-based defenses to the point defense role, which they are better suited for.
 

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