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

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/dote-delivers-another-scathing-report-on-f-35-progr-455483/
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/02/01/bad-data-in-f-35-logistics-system-resulting-in-lost-missions/

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/01/31/germany-officially-knocks-f-35-out-of-competition-to-replace-tornado/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/01/uk-may-not-able-buy-new-fleet-f-35-fighter-jets-unless-black/


Overall, not a good week for the F-35 program.
 
From Aviation Week:
Structural redesigns, including a new approach for the wing-carry-through, had made BH-1 unrepresentative of the final production standard, the DOT&E report states. The F-35 program has obtained funding to acquire a new structural test article, but it was not yet on contract, the report adds. Bloomberg first reported the DOT&E’s findings on the F-35 program.
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To assess the modified F-35B's service life limit, tests should be run on a more recent production aircraft. This has not happened yet, so statements about the modified B's service life limit should be treated with caution.
 
sferrin said:
And nobody is disputing that the F-35 might have issues. However some, I won't say who, think the best thing Europe in general could do is follow Germany's lead and buy Typhoons instead of F-35s. (That the Hornet is the mix is a fig leaf for German politicians, nothing more.) So no, Typhoon availability rates, as they compare to the F-35, aren't exactly irrelevant.
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And say, didn't Germany decide some of its new Tiffs only had 1500 hrs of safe flying time on them due to rear fuselage issues production issues? Did that ever get satisfactorily resolved? Wouldn't that mean the limited number of affected B-models we're slamming still have 40% longer service life as is? I'm sure we could find the same voices discussing the Tiff availability and lifespan issues dripping with the same venom...
 
Try as ever I can, I cannot discern the words Random Anti-Typhoon Biatch Session in the topic title.

Plainly my reading skills are up the spout today.
 
Further to my random snippet about the RAF ditching 'II' from the aircraft's title, its been pointed out by those who more about RAF serial numbers than I do that the MOD have allocated serials to 'mirror' the English Electric Lightning F.1 allocations, but starting at ZM135 to omit the unfortunate XM134 which crashed after only a few years in service.
Who said nostalgia is dead eh?
 
For not having TVC the controllability shown there at 8:25 is pretty amazing.
 
MORE Block 4 info

the last Block 3F software was delivered in December and the first Block 4 update is planned for April 2019.
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jSmeVzm.jpg


MARCH 2019
JOHN A. TIRPAK
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Block 4 comprises some 53 improvements to counter both air- and ground-based threats emerging from China and Russia. None of these upgrades will change the aircraft’s outer appearance, or “mold line.” Instead, they are primarily new or enhanced features executed in software, which will be rolled out in stages, with updates every April and October starting in 2019 and continuing through at least 2024.

“Instead of doing two-year deliveries … we decided to go to a more continuous capability framework,” said Vice Adm. Mathias W. Winter, F-35 Program Executive Officer, in a December interview.

Now that Block 3F has been “verified and validated,” the Lightning II is a “mature” system, Winter said, and ready to accept “modernization, enhancement, and improvements.” Exactly how many early production F-35s will be upgraded to the 3F configuration may be revealed in the 2020 budget submission to Congress.

...

Handled at the squadron level, TR3 upgrades can be completed “in a couple of days,” Winter said. That’s in contrast to TR2 modifications that require depot-level installation of structural and component improvements.
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a LOT more at the JUMP
http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2019/March%202019/Keeping-the-F-35-Ahead-of-the-Bad-Guys.aspx

Parting thought... The pic above shows the JSM, SOM-J, SDB2, ASRRAM, and Meteor as 5 of the new Block 4 weapons. Thought on the other two?
 
The article mentions JSOW C1 as another Block 4 weapon. It also mentions LRASM, but that may be a current capability, not new in Block 4.
 
Well, the article is pretty badly written so it might not mean to say that JSOW C1 is in Block 4.
 
Got to hand it to the flight control team. They're really making the H-stabs earn their pay. Watching that high-alpha pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1vgO8fba1U

And watch that second video around 0:42 and 1:48. Effectors flippety-flappin every which way.

However, the display doesn't tell us more about the EM aspects than we already knew.

As for C2D2 and the AFM article. All power to them if they can accomplish all that in the next ~5 years. Particularly swapping out computers and displays at the squadron level.
 
However, the display doesn't tell us more about the EM aspects than we already knew.
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IMOHO, this part of the demo (2nd viedo) targets 4th gen fighter display at airshow replicating their moves. High g corner turns (slammed it b/w), "high"* alpha barrel roll (canards does it better if the speed is kept high - see especially the J-20 (I know this one is not strictly a 4th gen - so don't throw me your bugged Huawei ;) ).

And notice (@ 0:40) the brief high G pull-up weapon bays open to show that there are no limitations in flight domain in that config.

sferrin said:
For not having TVC the controllability shown there at 8:25 is pretty amazing.
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FBW definitively ready for 6th gen


*high for 4th gen design
 
"High" alpha: relative value for a 5th gen but what I mean here is when the aircraft start to depart in yaw after roll inertia and is then countered by canards deflection. You can see good yaw authority via the canards on the -20. Other aircraft will tend to freeze pilot inputs while the aircraft re-enter safe parameters.

I have been searching quickly the video but hasn't been able to find back the part that I mention.
 
j-20 rolls are nonpertinent to thread, more of a controllability than an EM issue, and IMWIO not what a J-20 was designed (or claimed) to do.

Controllability allows for spectacular (and possibly useful) moves, as we've been seeing at shows for 30 years. What happens after those moves is important.
 
LowObservable said:
j-20 rolls are nonpertinent to thread, more of a controllability than an EM issue, and IMWIO not what a J-20 was designed (or claimed) to do.
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The claim was made in #1604. I wasn't trying to prove any point, I just wanted to see it. :p
 
J-20 rolling ability is very pertinent to the thread. Chinese in flight captured videos always picture high speed roll capabilities (J-10 / J-20). It's to me part of their fighting culture.

Then its' plausible that we are pouring way too much words on something that doesn't deserve that much of attention.
 
LowObservable said:
Particularly swapping out computers and displays at the squadron level.
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That's relatively easy. If there is no backplane update, then just swap cards like you would do in any other maintenance action. Same goes with the display (but with more hardware).

Remember that this is what the F-35 was designed for, ease of upgradeability.
 
It's quite cool how they harnessed the stability and control possibilities of the lifting body in combination with the low wing weep, even without the use of thrust vectoring. Maybe they have this cleaver mechanism inside the nozzle which would explain the very fat engine bulge, but this is complete speculation.
 
USN Declares F-35C IOC

The Navy declared today that its F-35C Joint Strike Fighter was operationally ready to deploy and conduct missions around the world.

The initial operational capability (IOC) declaration comes after the Navy’s first F-35C squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, conducted aircraft carrier qualifications aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in early December, received its safe-for-flight operations certification on Dec. 12 and spent the intervening weeks working with the Navy’s test community to prove it could operate and maintain the new stealthy jets.

“The F-35C is ready for operations, ready for combat and ready to win,” Commander of Naval Air Forces Vice Adm. DeWolfe Miller said in a statement today.
“We are adding an incredible weapon system into the arsenal of our Carrier Strike Groups that significantly enhances the capability of the joint force.”
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​​​​​​​More at the JUMP
https://news.usni.org/2019/02/28/navy-declares-initial-operational-capability-for-f-35c-joint-strike-fighter
 
Singapore Chooses the F-35

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore plans to buy an initial four F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corp, with an option to purchase eight more, as it looks to replace its ageing F-16 fleet, the city-state’s defense minister said on Friday.

Ng Eng Hen said in parliament that the ministry of defense will issue a letter of request (LOR) to the United States for the purchase, which must be approved by the U.S. Congress.

With Southeast Asia’s largest defense budget, the wealthy city-state is a key prize for global arms companies as it looks to invest in new technology and upgrade its equipment.

“Our LOR will request an initial acquisition of four F-35s, with the option of a subsequent eight if we decide to proceed,” Ng said. “Singapore has the endorsement of both the U.S. Administration and the Department of Defense for our proposed purchase of F-35s, but the Congress must still approve it.”

Ng added it was an “opportune time” for Singapore to put in the request because the price of F-35s - which ranges from $90 million to $115 million - has been steadily falling amid high demand from the United States and ten other countries, including Britain, Italy, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

A Lockheed executive told Reuters a year earlier that talks with Singapore had centered on the F-35B version short take-off and landing variant that is “a nice fit for a smaller land-constrained environment”.

Lockheed did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Singapore’s fleet of around 60 F-16 jets, which first entered service in 1998, will be retired soon after 2030.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-defence-lockheed/singapore-plans-to-buy-four-f-35-jets-with-option-to-buy-eight-more-media-idUSKCN1QI3H3
 
“The F-35C is ready for operations, ready for combat and ready to win."

Errm, not exactly.

"Today’s declaration greenlights the squadron to begin preparing for the first-ever deployment with the F-35C as part of a carrier air wing – likely aboard Vinson in 2021."

IOC to first cruise was 10 months for the Shornet.
 
You do know that a carrier is not required to declare IOC or to actually execute a combat op for the USN, right?

The original IOC framework that was laid down for the F-35 5+ years ago made no mention of needing a carrier.
 
You said that the IOC statement of “The F-35C is ready for operations, ready for combat and ready to win." was a false statement because it would not be on a carrier for at least 2 years.

Btw, saying "not exactly" is the same as saying "false". A fighter is either capable of combat ops or it is not.
 
F-35C combat operations (regardless of IOC criteria) involve being part of a carrier air wing. This will not occur until 2021, for sound reasons.

So to say that the aircraft is "ready for combat" is puffery, at best. It is not, until the F-35C force can sustain itself through a carrier cruise.
 
Here is the EXACT language used for the criteria needed for USN IOC Declaration.

United States Navy F-35C IOC Date and Capabilities:
Navy F-35C IOC shall be declared when the first operational squadron is manned, trained, and equipped to conduct assigned missions. The F-35C shall have the ability to conduct operational missions utilizing SDD program of record weapons and mission systems. The aircraft will be in a Block 3F configuration with the requisite SDD performance envelope and weapon clearances. The first Navy F-35C operational squadron shall have 10 primary aircraft and shall be capable of performing its assigned mission(s). Support and sustainment elements shall include spares, support equipment, tools, technical publications, training programs and devices, Autonomic Logistic Information System V2, and completion of ship qualifications and certifications to meet Commander, Naval Air System Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM) requirements to deploy aboard aircraft carriers.

Navy IOC is capability based and will be declared when the above conditions are met. If the F-35 IMS Version 7 executes according to plan, Navy F-35C IOC criteria could be met between August 2018 (Objective) and February 2019 (Threshold). Should capability delivery experience additional changes, this estimate will be revised appropriately.

The criteria stated above will provide sufficient initial combat capability for the threat postulated in 2018. However, in order to meet the full spectrum of Joint warfighter requirements in future years, the Navy will require enhanced lethality and survivability inherent in Blocks 3F and beyond.
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https://a855196877272cb14560-2a4fa819a63ddcc0c289f9457bc3ebab.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/12994/f-35_ioc_joint_report_final.pdf

Note that performing those combat ops is not "required" for IOC, just it's ability to pass ship quals.
 
LowObservable said:
F-35C combat operations (regardless of IOC criteria) involve being part of a carrier air wing. This will not occur until 2021, for sound reasons.

So to say that the aircraft is "ready for combat" is puffery, at best. It is not, until the F-35C force can sustain itself through a carrier cruise.
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Is puffery like some Navy historical tradition?

25 March 1983 marked the dawning of the Strike Fighter Squadron era as VA-113 was redesignated VFA-113 and traded their
stalwart A-7 "CORSAIRS" for the brand new F/A-18 "HORNETS." They completed the historic transition to the new multi-role Hornet and
on 14 December 1983 became the first fleet operational, combat ready Strike Fighter Squadron. The squadron soon embarked for the
first carrier deployment of the multi-mission F/A-18 with Carrier Air Wing 14 on board USS CONSTELLATION (CV-64)
from February to August 1985.
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My emphasis.

https://www.vfa113.navy.mil/113history.htm
 
I never thought anyone would ever cite the Classic Hornet as a benchmark for swift and problem-free service entry, but here we are.
 
LowObservable said:
I never thought anyone would ever cite the Classic Hornet as a benchmark for swift and problem-free service entry, but here we are.
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I never thought anyone opining on Navy terminology would be so easily blindsided by its historical usage.
 

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