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

Maybe Meteor and Spear 3 integration works better in the A model? :rolleyes:

“The Strategic Defence Review does not recommend reductions in fast jets for the RAF, but it confirms the Government’s commitment to GCAP, to upgrade Typhoons and no reductions in number as there is a shift to a new mix of F35Bs and F35As. The Government is committed to upgrading Typhoons and driving exports of Typhoons abroad.”

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/uk-confirms-aim-to-buy-f-35a-for-nato-nuclear-strike-role/
 
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Scott Kenny said:
Block 4 strikes again!
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What's really incredible is the lack of weapons options for F-35Bs... either 500lb GBUs (GBU-12 / UK Paveway IV) or 1,000lb JDAMs (GBU-32). That's OK for close air support and against Third World countries with benign air-defense environments, but what a waste of a stealth fighter.

GBU-53 Stormbreaker (SDB-II) is coming shortly IIRC... perhaps in the next 12 months. Should the UK buy a few SDB-IIs to provide an interim capability against Tier 1 threats?
 
Tomboy said:
Seems like a odd decision when China might double 5th gen procurement in the coming years
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If I want to play the role of the optimist, I'd say orders will increase again upon introduction of Block IV. Or increased focus on CCA type aircraft which will supplement the already existing and slowly growing manned fleet.

If I'm going to be the pessimist (or realist), I'd just say, and I have no other way of saying this, that the people running the show aren't particularly smart.

Or maybe they are and I'm just too dumb to grasp their genius.

Nowadays it could be anything, but yes it's very odd. More F-35s don't really have any downside, especially as it allows for the retirement/storage of legacy airframes.

This together with the E-7 debacle isn't painting a coherent picture. At least B-21, F-47 and the CCAs are running somewhat smoothly currently. The people at NG deserve a raise for how the development of the B-21 is currently going.
 
EmoBirb said:
If I want to play the role of the optimist, I'd say orders will increase again upon introduction of Block IV. Or increased focus on CCA type aircraft which will supplement the already existing and slowly growing manned fleet.

If I'm going to be the pessimist (or realist), I'd just say, and I have no other way of saying this, that the people running the show aren't particularly smart.

Or maybe they are and I'm just too dumb to grasp their genius.

Nowadays it could be anything, but yes it's very odd. More F-35s don't really have any downside, especially as it allows for the retirement/storage of legacy airframes.

This together with the E-7 debacle isn't painting a coherent picture. At least B-21, F-47 and the CCAs are running somewhat smoothly currently. The people at NG deserve a raise for how the development of the B-21 is currently going.
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Pete Serdyukov.
 
Geo said:
Ok. It was meant to be a satirical analogy with Anatoly Serdyukov, whose reforms at the Ministry of Defense prompted similar considerations to those you come to in your post.
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Ohhh, that completely went over my head. My bad.
 
Training_Dummy said:
the incredibly slow speed of integrating vital weapons for international F-35 partners is frustrating and confusing.
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While I agree, is it really a surprise? Aside from the US and some Asian nations no F-35 partner or customer is really known for their solid, timely or well funded attitude towards anything military related. Places like the UK and Germany are among the worst of offenders in that regard.
 
EmoBirb said:
While I agree, is it really a surprise? Aside from the US and some Asian nations no F-35 partner or customer is really known for their solid, timely or well funded attitude towards anything military related. Places like the UK and Germany are among the worst of offenders in that regard.
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True but still surprising even a UK crown jewel like METEOR couldn’t buy its way to the front of the line. Actually now that I wrote that, I doubt the RN cared as much as RAF, given the former was the initial operator of F-35. So that might explain METEORs past integration speed.
 
EmoBirb said:
While I agree, is it really a surprise? Aside from the US and some Asian nations no F-35 partner or customer is really known for their solid, timely or well funded attitude towards anything military related. Places like the UK and Germany are among the worst of offenders in that regard.
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generally agree, although there probably are some exceptions like Poland, which is active in funding their military and pushing development. Not sure if they invested on any kind of integration tests for their F-35s other than buying off the shelf.
but for their other recent acquisitions, they've been active in funding further development of various systems, like on their K2 tanks and Golden Eagles
 
But does a stealth fighter with that kind of RCS reduction need a pricey Meteor missile with a slight margin of yet unproven NEZ... Especially when every remaining pennies are now considered precious.
 
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Arjen said:
The best way to go into any fight is go into it with an unfair adavantage.
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I agree, stand off range is never bad. Ideally you don't even have to rely on your stealth characteristics, as in not having to get close enough where it actually matters.
 
TomcatViP said:
Notable increase of F-35 in House appropriators bill from a low 24 initially to 69 now:
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Not 24 but 47 jets was what is in the Trump budget request. 69 is similar to FY25 and expected unless they want to. significantly decrease production. House basically ignored the President's request (which I believe wasn't even fully submitted to Congress at the time) and marked to their own numbers similar to FY25 levels.
 
Yes but basically the same as what the Biden administration had in their last budget. I guess we can all celebrate the fact that they cut it by 50% and then restored it back and kept it flat..:)
 
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bring_it_on said:
Not 24 but 47 jets was what is in the Trump budget request. 69 is similar to FY25 and expected unless they want to. significantly decrease production. House basically ignored the President's request (which I believe wasn't even fully submitted to Congress at the time) and marked to their own numbers similar to FY25 levels.
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This F-35 program is realy a non sens at the J-36 and J-50 time , Lockheed promise marvelous about it since years and it is still the same version unable to be block 4 , they promise everything and in the same time they sell to pentagon the same thing, Ferrari F-35 will never appear...... Good news they lost NGAD, all is about communication in Lockheed but nothing new in line years after years. It was a good advise to buy just 24 of them.
 
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dark sidius said:
This F-35 program is realy a non sens at the J-36 and J-50 time , Lockheed promise marvelous about it since years and it is still the same version unable to be block 4 , they promise everything and in the same time they sell to pentagon the same thing, Ferrari F-35 will never appear...... Good news they lost NGAD, all is about communication in Lockheed but nothing new in line years after years. It was a good advise to buy just 24 of them.
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The F-35 is meant to fill a very different niche compared to the F-22, F-47 and possibly the upcoming J-36 and J-50.

It I fundamentally a strike fighter, it's intended mission is to leverage it's comprehensive sensor suite, sensor fusion, datalink and stealth to engage anything threatening that lurks on the ground. That includes things like SAM systems, but also think into the direction of TELs operating well within hostile territory. It's still a multirole aircraft and thus can engage aerial targets, thanks to the qualities mentioned above and other qualities like a more than decent radar (even in it's current iteration) it can do so rather effectively actually.

It (probably) won't be able to utterly outstrip something like a J-35 in an engagement. But that's simply because the average of peer nations with regards to what kind of aircraft they field has caught up to a level where it also includes powerful AESA, extensive sensor suites, stealth etc.

If the J-36, F-47 or J-50 wouldn't represent a significant step up compared to a chubby strike fighter with regards to air combat, well then they would be fundamentally flawed. Especially given that from everything we know so far, or think to know/are led to believe, the J-36 and F-47 are thoroughbred air superiority monstrosities.

With all of that in mind, the F-35 is fundamentally the backbone of US and NATO airpower. It is the baseline and F-47 will be the tip of the spear. The F-35 is meant to get down and dirty. Not to duke it out over hundreds of kilometers with it's foreign analog. Although that may still be in the cards, given the USN and PLAN will operate F-35C and J-35 from their carriers in the Pacific. So no, I don't think the F-35 could be counted as nonsense, neither are further investments into growing the fleet. Numbers, numbers, numbers.
 
TomcatViP said:
I like reading those elaborated takes on the alleged F-35 negligeable performances while missions, that could only have been dreamed of during the last 40 years, are flown night after night with perfect success, and yet no loss, over the middle east...
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In the middle east there is no modern AA defense and no fighter fleet in face of the F-35 ; not the same story with the capacity of China. The same story for the Rafale who can do the job perfectly for fighting the Talibans but in Pakistan not the same story with sophisticate AA defense this time one or more go down. We cant take this kind of conflict for reference where F-16 or 4th gen figher can do the same things. What make me angry about this program is the promise of Lockheed who are never right with this plane , a decade after they are unable to furnish the block 4 to the Pentagon and they speak about a F-35 Ferrari it is laughing.... but this time with the lost of the NGAD and FA/XX, time for Lockheed to restart if they want to continue building warplane in the futur.
 
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Defense Updates has put out a video concerning a recent exercise testing the F-35's network centric warfare capabilities:


Network centric warfare (NCW) is critical in modern-day high temp combat scenarios. NCW is a military doctrine that uses advanced information technology to connect dispersed forces, enabling real-time information sharing and coordination. This approach is vital for joint all-domain operations, integrating air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains to enhance decision-making and operational effectiveness. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a key platform in this paradigm, designed not just for stealth and combat but also for serving as a central node in a vast military network. A very powerful example of the aircraft’s Network-centric warfare capabilities has been demonstrated recently.​
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The US defense contractor Lockheed Martin said one of its F-35 stealth fighters sent classified data from Texas to a command center around 5,000 miles or about 8050 km away in Denmark, calling this a milestone and a successful demonstration of how systems work together.Danish military F-35s flying out of Fort Worth exported the data via DAGGR-2, made by Lockheed's Advanced Development Programs, also known as Skunk Works. The command-and-control system then passed the classified information through commercial satellite communications to Denmark's Skrydstrup Air Base.​
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In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how the F-35 demonstrated its extreme Network-centric warfare capabilities?
#defenseupdates #f35 #f35lightningii
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Chapters:
0:00 TITLE
00:11 INTRODUCTION
01:46 SPONSORSHIP - NordVPN
02:20 F-35 - EYES IN SKY
04:40 COMMENTARY
06:26 ANALYSIS
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