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

TomcatViP said:
Honeywell CEO just declared that they have a software only fix that would reach the level of cooling needed for Block 4 and could be made available in 2 years.
Hardware upgrade (modified) available in 4 years.
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Think this starts to make them sound desperate or at least very worried that Collins offer is very competitive and appealing.
 
Scott Kenny said:
So the jet broke bad. It happens.
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Probably something that needs support/maintenance equipment that is difficult to move a quarter of the way around the world just to fix one aircraft, but which is in place in the UK for normal fleet support.

Much cheaper & less disruptive to pull the wings and ship the aircraft back to the UK.
 
jeffb said:
That's crazy. F-35B is supposed to operate from austere forward/unprepared bases isn't it?
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What ever has grounded the F-35B has likely rendered it un-flightworthy without repairs.
 
On Monday, opposition Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty asked the government to clarify what was being done to secure it and return it to operational service, the UK Defence Journal reported.
"What steps are the government taking to recover the plane, how much longer will that take, and how will the government ensure the security of protected technologies on the jet while it is in the hangar and out of view?" he was quoted as saying.
The British armed forces minister, Luke Pollard, confirmed the aircraft remained under close UK control.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8gj2nlnywo.amp
 
Maybe the media shouldn't over hype aircraft in the first place?
If a Sea Harrier had broken down back in the day we wouldn't have heard a thing about it and nobody would have cared.
 
Scott Kenny said:
So the jet broke bad. It happens.
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Of course it happens, but it's never a good look, we shouldn't pretend otherwise imo.

The UK armed forces are sadly making headlines for all the wrong reasons these days over and over again.
 
TomcatViP said:
Honeywell CEO just declared that they have a software only fix that would reach the level of cooling needed for Block 4 and could be made available in 2 years.
Hardware upgrade (modified) available in 4 years.
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Software in 2 YEARS? If they already have it, get it out there. If they don't have it, how do they know it will work?
 
No issue. Just highly unlikely that it was “hydraulics”.

From article:
If you were to compare the F-35 to the F-16, you probably reduced maintenance by 60%. When you have self-sustained systems, and when that system breaks, you just got to change that one component and you’re done, that’s it. Before you had to remove the lines, you got brake lines and now you just got an actuator you pull and you remove and you install a new one.
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In regards to the F-35 A and B models, all of the primary surfaces actuators are redundant EHA units (two 270V motors driving bi-directional hydraulic pumps). In regards to the F-35C, the outboard ailerons are standard, non EHA, 4000 psig electrohydraulic servocylinders the other surfaces are EHAs. EHAs could not fit within the thin outer wing envelope. My old company HR Textron (now Woodward) developed these units. I made visits to Parker and Moog and got demos of the EHAs, quite impressive but these units are large, especially the H-Stab units, they are monsters and being a fighter aircraft, not easy to get in and out and are power hogs.

The EHAs require a lot of electrical power and that is a trade-off against traditional, distributed hydraulics and EHAs. I can do the same flight surface work with standard, redundant EH servocylinders driving either +/- 1.5A max direct-drive valves or +/- 8 mA servovalves at a constant system pressure of 4000 psig. But again this is the trade-off between EHAs and a distributed hydraulic system, trying to minimize potential leaks and decrease maintenance. The F-35 needs distributed hydraulics anyway for gear, lift system, bay doors, aux doors, etc. The latest hydro line fitting systems are quite good and leaks are minimal but hydro fittings are not designed to take on and off frequently.
 
Hydroman said:
I made visits to Parker and Moog and got demos of the EHAs, quite impressive but these units are large, especially the H-Stab units, they are monsters and being a fighter aircraft, not easy to get in and out and are power hogs.
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Has there been any progress in refining the design of EHAs to reduce their size and power-requirements since then?
 
NMaude said:
Has there been any progress in refining the design of EHAs to reduce their size and power-requirements since then?
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Parker and Moog have been working to improve the efficiency and reduce the power demand of the EHAs but HP is HP and it all has to do with meeting maximum flight surface requirements especially for a 9g aircraft. Even though these are EHAs, you have to accelerate and decelerate the electric motor mass and meet response requirements to boot and upon deceleration, you also have to handle the back EMF /re-gen since you now turn the motor into a generator. The same would apply to EMAs as well. but with EMAs its failure modes, failure modes, failure modes (i.e. ballscrews and geartrains).
 
Hydroman said:
I made visits to Parker and Moog and got demos of the EHAs, quite impressive but these units are large, especially the H-Stab units, they are monsters and being a fighter aircraft, not easy to get in and out and are power hogs.
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I visited Moog numerous times over the years re these.
 
The USAF appears to be wanting to add stealth drop-tanks to the Block 4 F-35 upgrade package, from Sandboxx:


The Air Force is looking to give its F-35’s a big boost in range by adding external fuel tanks to the fighter as a part of its massive Block 4 upgrade that also includes a powerful new radar array, improved infrared targeting and situational awareness, a huge boost in electronic warfare capabilities and a slew of new weapons, some of which remain classified.
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Scott Kenny said:
It is.

But it is still quite possible to have something break that means the plane isn't able to fly out. Happened on Harriers, happened on USMC F-35s.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c335mnl33v1o
Repairs under way on UK fighter jet stuck in India for three weeks
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2 days ago Geeta Pandey BBC News, Delhi•
Ashraf Padanna Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

A 14-member team of engineers from the UK is carrying out repairs on a state-of-the-art British fighter jet that has been stuck at an airport in India for more than three weeks.

The F-35B landed on 14 June at Thiruvananthapuram airport in the southern state of Kerala where it was diverted after it ran into bad weather during a sortie in the Indian Ocean.
The plane then reported a technical snag and was unable to return to the HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy's flagship carrier.
Its prolonged presence on Indian soil has sparked curiosity and raised questions about how such a modern aircraft could remain stranded in a foreign country for so long.

Since the jet's landing, engineers from HMS Prince of Wales had assessed the aircraft, but they were unable to fix it.
On Sunday, the British High Commission said in a statement that a team of engineers from UK was "deployed to Thiruvananthapuram airport to assess and repair the F-35B aircraft".
It said the team was "carrying specialist equipment necessary for the movement and repair process".

Video footage shared by Indian news agencies ANI and PTI showed a British Royal Air Force Airbus landing at Thiruvananthapuram to drop the team of technical experts.
Videos showed the F-35B being towed away to a hangar - the high commission had earlier said they had "accepted the offer to move the craft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility", but were waiting for equipment to arrive from the UK.

The $110m (£80m) jet is being guarded around the clock by six officers from the RAF.
The case of the stranded jet has also been raised in the House of Commons.

In India, images of the "lonely F-35B", parked on the tarmac and soaked by the Kerala monsoon rains, have made it a subject of jokes and memes with many suggesting that it does not want to leave the scenic state of Kerala, described as "God's own country" in tourism brochures.

Experts say if the team of engineers is unable to repair the aircraft and make it fly worthy, it will have to be dismantled and carried out in a bigger cargo plane such as a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft.
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Lets wait for actual real updates, shall we?
 
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16x retired 4 stars generals unite to request Congress to raise 2026 F-35A orders of only 25 airframe back to 75:

“F-35As were integral to the success of Operation Midnight Hammer [the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities], but also crucial to the Israeli Air Force’s ability to crush Iran’s air defenses and swiftly achieve air superiority over Iran,” the generals wrote in the letter.

The generals acknowledged the F-35 has faced challenges in its development, most recently in the delayed rollout of hardware and software upgrades known as Technology Refresh 3, but said those upgrades have greatly improved and that their certifications are nearly done. They urged Congress to not only reverse the Pentagon’s planned F-35A cuts, but increase the jet’s procurement plan and buy 75 in 2026.
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https://www.defensenews.com/air/202...iefs-sound-alarm-about-planned-f-35-e-7-cuts/
https://www.afa.org/generals-to-congress-buy-more-f-35s-fund-the-e-7/
 
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