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

totallyaverage said:
They can fly supersonic, there is just a peacetime limitation on afterburner usage. Said limitation restricts the number of seconds the two variants can use afterburner, but only in specific segments of the flight envelope. There is some concern about damage to the RAM, but moreso the concern is with damage to the ESM apertures in the horizontal tails.

The problem however has been extremely limited, and at the time it was revealed publicly it had only been recorded to have occured once on each variant.
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Thank you for the detailed response.

sferrin said:
Is there any evidence to suggest the paint has anything to do with LO?
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sferrin said:
Okay, so that would be "no".
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I thought you were implying that the paint on the F-35 didn't have any LO characteristics to consider, sorry about that.
 
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helmutkohl said:
sferrin said:
The first question anybody should ask is, "why doesn't the F-35B have the same problem"?
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Thats what I posted earlier. I was looking of videos and pics of the 35Bs on the Queen Elizabeth which also just returned from its deployment.. doesn't seem to have the same skin issue. Is there something unique to the 35C in terms of its skin or materials? that the B doesnt have? or does it have to do with anything operational related?
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Same paint, same materials.
 
sferrin said:
I'm saying there is no evidence to suggest there is.
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This is from a recent USAF article:
Maintaining this radar absorbent coating on the surface of the F-35 is a job that takes very detail-oriented, sometimes tedious work – masking every small area, properly mixing chemicals, applying them precisely, smoothing and assessing the smallest imperfections.
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In_A_Dream said:
sferrin said:
I'm saying there is no evidence to suggest there is.
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This is from a recent USAF article:
Maintaining this radar absorbent coating on the surface of the F-35 is a job that takes very detail-oriented, sometimes tedious work – masking every small area, properly mixing chemicals, applying them precisely, smoothing and assessing the smallest imperfections.
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I think they're probably referring to that tape looking stuff at the panel lines.
 
They are referring to masking an area around damaged LO coating to work on it.
 
helmutkohl said:
Is there something unique to the 35C in terms of its skin or materials? that the B doesnt have?
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Body lift. IMOHO, the zone affected are the ones where air pressure is negative while the plane has its nose up. This phenomenon would be related to slow and low altitude flight at sea. That would explain why only the C is affected.

My 2 -cents.
 
According to information published by the U.S. Navy on February 2, 2022, the Air-to-Air Missiles Program Office (PMA-259) acquired Italy as its 28th Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9X International Partner.

The Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. notified the Navy International Programs Office that the Italian Air Force accepted and signed the Letter of Offer & Acceptance (LOA) provided by the United States Government.

Italian Air Force officials signed the LOA Nov. 19., and shortly after representatives from PMA-259 and Raytheon Missiles & Defense presented the AIM-9X Block II/II+ Classified Capabilities Briefing to Italian Headquarters Air Force Staff and F-35 Lightning II pilots.

This LOA consists of a modest quantity of AIM-9X Block II/II+ missiles to complement its F-35 fleet. This procurement will be part of the U. S. Navy’s Lot 23 Production Contract, which will award in 2023 and deliver missiles in 2026.

Additionally, the Italian Navy, which also operates the fifth-generation fighter aircraft, has been provided with a separate LOA for Lot 23 AIM-9X Block II/II+ missiles, and is expected to accept it soon.

Italy will receive AIM-9X missiles that will employ the true fifth-generation Block II/II+ capabilities of Lock-On-After-Launch, Data Link, and Surface Attack.

www.navyrecognition.com

Italy joins Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9X program of US Navy

The Air-to-Air Missiles Program Office acquired Italy as its 28th Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9X International Partner.
www.navyrecognition.com www.navyrecognition.com
 
[...] source, close to the German military, said a possible F-35 purchase was "back on the table", but no decisions were expected anytime soon.

"There have been recent efforts to inform Germany of how to move ahead with a potential F-35 purchase," a third source involved in the effort told Reuters.
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www.reuters.com

Germany eyes Lockheed F-35 fighter jet; no final decision -source

Germany is leaning toward purchasing the U.S. fighter jet F-35 built by Lockheed Martin to replace its ageing Tornado in the role of nuclear sharing, a German defence source told Reuters on Thursday, but a final decision has not been taken.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
GTX said:
They know it's the best choice capability wise albeit maybe not the best choice politically...
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Without even going into the politics of it all a lot of the “pro” for the potential Super Hornet would be capabilities of the Growler portion of the buy in the SEAD and wider jammer role; purely as a B61 delivery platform it’s not even particularly close for the Super Hornet versus the F-35.
So apart from the politics alot may come down to the urgency and weight given to that SEAD role versus the B61 related role.
 
kaiserd said:
Without even going into the politics of it all a lot of the “pro” for the potential Super Hornet would be capabilities of the Growler portion of the buy in the SEAD and wider jammer role; purely as a B61 delivery platform it’s not even particularly close for the Super Hornet versus the F-35.
So apart from the politics alot may come down to the urgency and weight given to that SEAD role versus the B61 related role.
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there is a third opportunity is gradually cut down Luftwaffe, think about it, no more euros spending for wargames
hold on only helicopter groups for civil emergency tasks
IMO it will be right way for Germany
 
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rooster said:
Not sure if this belongs here... The mods will decide but a nice article on the losing jsf Boeing design. I wonder what black project Boeing has in its portfolio that was borrowed for the x32.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ins-why-the-x-32-lost-to-what-became-the-f-35
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The X-32 configuration bore some resemblance to Boeing’s ATF submission, although the latter has a much better fineness ratio due to the supercruise requirements. It’s possible that this black project is a further development of that.


ATF_Evol_part1_19_1267828237_3769.JPG
 
That's a rock solid airplane! Thanks God that it didn't end with a body count.
So, the pilot ejected soon after impact? Do I see it right?
 
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Opportunistic Minnow said:
GTX said:
They know it's the best choice capability wise albeit maybe not the best choice politically...
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Do they indeed? Link?
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IRC there were news reports that choosing F-35 (or any American option for that matter) was against German interests in terms of industry as they want to produce more Typhoons (it could be satisfied if its a mix F-35 and Typhoon order).

then there was a post in the FCAS thread in which buying F-35 would piss of France (and probably Airbus too) as it means Germany would be less interested in working with the French in producing a next gen fighter.

Just my personal view.. Germany should get the F-35.. and France should just ditch Germany.. a lot of the products they've made together had a lot of issues (helicopters, transport, etc) and Germany has some very differing foreign policy interests that don't align with France, leading to different visions of what their systems should do. France should go it alone with smaller partners.. or as suggested before, work with the UK. I know UK and French relations aren't so great these days.. but their foreign policy interests, needs are much more similar to each other than Germany's (a lot of naval interests and power projection interests).. and when they did work together, they produced many awesome things such as the Jaguar and Concorde.
 
BAE Systems recently delivered its 3,000th vehicle management computer (VMC) and 1,000th active inceptor system (AIS) to Lockheed Martin for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, achieving two major production milestones on the platform. The VMC and AIS are flight critical systems that provide each F-35 jet with the ability to operate safely and reliably in demanding environments, with decreased pilot workload and enhanced mission effectiveness.

[...]

The VMC unit provides advanced hardware and computing for the F-35’s digital fly-by-wire flight control system and utility systems (fuel, electrical, and hydraulic system controls), which maximize system integration to improve mission efficiency and safety. BAE Systems has successfully reached full-rate production – increasing deliveries from 10 shipsets per month to 25 shipsets per month to achieve program requirements.

BAE Systems has also reached full-rate production at a level of 19 shipsets per month for its active inceptors, which are used by the pilot to direct and maneuver the aircraft. The AIS consists of the inceptor control unit, active side stick controller, and active quadrant throttle assembly. The high-integrity inceptors provide pilots with tactical feedback through active technology for increased situational awareness, safety, and mission survivability
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BAE Systems achieves key production milestones for the F-35 fighter

BAE Systems delivered its 3,000th vehicle management computer and 1,000th active inceptor system for the F-35.
www.baesystems.com www.baesystems.com
 
AN/AWW-14(V) said:
kaiserd said:
Without even going into the politics of it all a lot of the “pro” for the potential Super Hornet would be capabilities of the Growler portion of the buy in the SEAD and wider jammer role; purely as a B61 delivery platform it’s not even particularly close for the Super Hornet versus the F-35.
So apart from the politics alot may come down to the urgency and weight given to that SEAD role versus the B61 related role.
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there is a third opportunity is gradually cut down Luftwaffe, think about it, no more euros spending for wargames
hold on only helicopters groups for civil emergency tasks
IMO it will be right way for Germany
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Seriously ? A major industrial powerhouse with a bit less than 80 million souls, right in the middle of Europe... not even able to patrol and defend its airspace ?
Losing the strike role (including NATO nuclear) - maybe. I can see why it is seen as controversial and expensive for Germany since the wall fell and Cold War ended.

But disbanding the entire air force ? :eek:
:eek::eek:

Nothing insulting for these countries but - Germany cannot be New Zealand. Nor Austria. Nor freakkin' Monaco... or Vatican City !

Yet this begs and interesting question indeed. Why can't Germany just keep just enough 100% air defense Typhoons to defend its airspace... and nothing else ? (by "nothing else" I mean, for the fast jet strike force obviously. Transports, helicopters, keep going).
 
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TomcatViP said:
That's a rock solid airplane! Thanks God that it didn't end with a body count.
So, the pilot ejected soon after impact? Do I see it right?
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That's what I see too, pilot was out before the plane was halfway down the deck. Can see what looks like the seat motor burning at about :38 in the twitter video.
 
Archibald said:
Seriously ?
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absolutely, from side I see a lot of people opinions from Germany, which are skeptical about their armed forces and deployed in country US-British forces
IMO this is Cognitive inertia that one of most peaceful country of Europe neccesery needed fleet of jet fighters
Archibald said:
not even able to patrol and defend its airspace ?
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protect airspace from who? today Germany has no enemies and no potency to find them in future

Archibald said:
Yet this begs and interesting question indeed. Why can't Germany just keep just enough 100% air defense Typhoons to defend its airspace... and nothing else ? (by "nothing else" I mean, for the fast jet strike force obviously. Transports, helicopters, keep going).
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its good idea

pls move posts about usefulness new jet fighters to
 
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rooster said:
Not sure if this belongs here... The mods will decide but a nice article on the losing jsf Boeing design. I wonder what black project Boeing has in its portfolio that was borrowed for the x32.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ins-why-the-x-32-lost-to-what-became-the-f-35
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I think the source is slightly misinterpreting what was told to him >25 years ago. I believe Boeing's work was company-funded or IRAD until they got some DARPA funding to build a large-scale powered model. The company kept it close-held for a time, but I don't think it was a SAP, because they disclosed it at their own discretion in mid-1993.

See this: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/boeing-jast-jsf-x-32-projects.2121/
 
I wonder why they haven't implemented a "this is where you'll be in 10 seconds" overlay on the pilot's HUD? Maybe a distraction? Doesn't seem like something that would be difficult to do.
 
sferrin said:
I wonder why they haven't implemented a "this is where you'll be in 10 seconds" overlay on the pilot's HUD? Maybe a distraction? Doesn't seem like something that would be difficult to do.
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C'mon guys, Straping on an Aircraft carrier is the most difficult and dangerous thing a landing pilot can do. Errors does happen. Especially when automation are plenty and the pilot and batman have to understand that their systems are not the thing they have to rely on in a specific situation or that they are misreading the displayed info.

I think that's why DARPA (or is that the US Army?) has a program where AI monitors pilots and estimate if an information was registered correctly before taking over in critical situations.
 
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LowObservable said:
sferrin said:
I wonder why they haven't implemented a "this is where you'll be in 10 seconds" overlay on the pilot's HUD? Maybe a distraction? Doesn't seem like something that would be difficult to do.
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Yer wot?

View attachment 673679
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Had not ever really looked into that. Assumed it was an automated landing system rather than something to aid the pilot in determining where they were going to be.
 
I think everyone in this thread is guilty of editorializing to some extent. We don't know what the Germans think. They may not even know what they think yet! Let's just wait for some news shall we?
 
Cannonfodder43 said:
Possible footage of the deck strike.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1486913025999208452
View: https://twitter.com/raz_liu/status/1486913025999208452?t=0YWigko0GFploX7nViQPWw&s=19

May have originated on Instagram though..

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
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I'm not familiar with standard procedures for carrier landings. However, in this video it appears the aircraft was lined up with the flightdeck very late. Was it an emergency? Another observation: Apparently the carrier made a rather sharp turn short before the accident happened.
 
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