F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

[CougarKing]

Defense News

Italy Seeks Bigger JSF Workshare
Jun. 27, 2014 - 11:23AM  |  By TOM KINGTON

(...EDITED)

“My intention is to strongly request the help of US authorities, in the context of a wider strategic partnership which has historically united our two countries, to increase in the coming years the workload at the Cameri facility to compensate the reduction in work linked to Italy’s requirements,” Pinotti said.


Italy has built a final assembly line for its JSFs at its Cameri air base in northern Italy, which is facing a shortfall in production after Italy cut its order from 131 to 90 aircraft.

A deal has meanwhile been struck to assemble Dutch jets at the plant, and Pinotti said talks are also underway with Norway.

Norway’s first JSF is in the early stages of assembly at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility and Norway does not plan to switch facilities, said Endre Lunde, an adviser to the Norweigan MoD.

Italy has also frozen the signing of new JSF contracts following a vote last year in parliament over budget concerns. Pinotti said that only six aircraft have been contracted from the program’s low rate initial production (LRIP) 6 and 7.

Italy has also authorized procurement of long-lead items for two LRIP 8 conventional JSFs and two LRIP 9 aircraft — a conventional version and a short-takeoff vertical-landing (STOVL) aircraft.

(...EDITED)

 

[Kirkhill]

Congratulations one and all.

Screwed the pooch on using the Arrow to leverage development of Canadian Aerospace.
Screwed the pooch on using the EH-101
Screwed the pooch on the CH-148
Screwed the pooch on the CF-35

Other underutilized opportunities:

DeHavilland Otter-Twotter-Caribou-Buffalo - Boeing and Bombardier gained some benefit but the Govmint lost contact with the vendors and appropriate development stalled so that Canadian manufacturers produced nothing the CF wanted or needed.

CL89 CL289 CL227 CL327 - on the "drone-UAV" front equally represent a lack of strategic relations between Govmint and Industry.

One thing the Aussies do much better than us?  The way they parlay their CSIRO organization vs our NRC.

They spend government money on government scientists to solve government (and industry) problems and then allow local industry to commercialize and deliver the solutions.

Canada?  Not so mucking fuch.

 

[YZT580]

he Harper government is pressing pause on a decision to buy new jet fighters, including whether to purchase Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II without holding a competition, because it feels ministers need more information on other options before selecting a course of action.

Maybe if there was a pipeline heading south approval in the works  there might be F35's heading north? 

 

[Rifleman62]

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2014/06/28/pentagon-grounds-entire-f-fighter-jet-fleet/11582365/

Pentagon grounds entire F-35 fighter jet fleet

Paul Giblin, The Republic | azcentral.com 10:16 p.m. MST June 27, 2014

The Air Force has grounded its entire fleet of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets after a fire ignited in the rear of one of the planes preparing for takeoff in Florida on Monday.

The order included two F-35s currently stationed in Glendale at Luke Air Force Base, which is slated to become the Air Force's largest F-35 pilot training base during the next decade.

A pilot was preparing to take flight for a training mission at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida panhandle when a fire broke out. The pilot aborted the mission and exited safely, the Air Force said.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Eglin temporarily suspended flying operations while a safety board conducts an investigation.

The Department of Defense grounded the entire fleet late Wednesday.

"As a precautionary measure, the Air Force has decided to temporarily suspend all F-35A operations until it is determined that flights can resume safely," the Air Force said in a statement released Thursday.
The F-35 in flight. (Photo: Jen Hazeltine)

The F-35A is the Air Force version of the jet. There are two other variants — the F-35B for the Marines and the F-35C for the Navy. Luke's first F-35 was the 100th made.

The Marines cleared their F-35s to resume flying Friday. The other services kept theirs parked.

Idling the fleet is standard following mishaps, said Luke spokesman Capt. Tristan Hinderliter.

"It's not uncommon when there's an incident like that for the Air Force to ground the whole fleet until they can do an investigation and make sure that it's not a systemic type of thing that would impact other jets," he said.

The Air Force operates a total of 45 F-35s at Luke, Eglin, Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Luke officials expect to have about 15 of the planes at the Glendale base by the end of the year and 144 total by around 2024.

The matte-gray, twin-tail jets are manufactured by Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Air Force's version of the single-seat, single-engine supersonic planes cost approximately $131.9 million each, according to the Pentagon's most recent purchase announcements.

The other variants cost more.

The F-35, which is also called the Joint Strike Fighter, is the most expensive and technologically advanced military aircraft in existence.

It is projected to be a critical component of the U.S. defense strategy for the next 40 to 50 years as it replaces older aircraft.

The planes are designed to evade enemy radar and to carry advanced avionics and weapons systems.

The $392 billion program has been besieged by design setbacks and is seven years behind schedule.

 

[OldSolduer]

We have vehicles that do that,...spontaneously combust.

LSVW and the huge MSVS

 

[Blake Castelein]

I was just wondering the mass opinion here, do the armed forces agree with buying the F-35 (with then also cutting the size of the infantry if they do) or buying the F18 super hornet?

 

[PuckChaser]

Not a loaded or biased question, not at all.

 

[Blake Castelein]

Sorry I just read a thing the general Andy Leslie said saying they would cut infantry and personally I don't think that's a good thing...

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Sorry I just read a thing the general Andy Leslie said saying they would cut infantry and personally I don't think that's a good thing...

Don't listen to Leslie. He's retired and pushing a liebral loaded agenda, as part of the Dauphin's inner circle.

 

[Blake Castelein]

So if we buy the F35 the army will be okay?

 

[The Bread Guy]

So if we buy the F35 the army will be okay?

Gotta be in there SOMEWHERE in the 96 pages of discussion on this topic already in play, no?

 

[Blake Castelein]

I'm in the middle of a novel right now, didnt feel like starting another one haha

 

[MilEME09]

So if we buy the F35 the army will be okay?

well we certainly wont be better off but yes we will survive, now that Afghanistan is done the army is pretty much taking the back burner while the Airforce and the Navy get their time in the spot light and get a bigger piece of the pie directed at them.

 

[a_majoor]

I was just wondering the mass opinion here, do the armed forces agree with buying the F-35 (with then also cutting the size of the infantry if they do) or buying the F18 super hornet?

What makes you think that buying the Super Hornet (or Super-Duper Hornet with conformal tanks and stealthed weapons carrier) would be any cheaper under our own dysfunctional purchaseing system?

For that matter, why would you think the size of the Infantry or any other combat or support arm (or the Navy or Air Force) is protected under any circumstance?

 

[Loachman]

I'm in the middle of a novel right now, didnt feel like starting another one haha

We're in the middle of our lives right now, we don't feel like retyping everything that's already been said just for you.

 

[Blake Castelein]

We're in the middle of our lives right now, we don't feel like retyping everything that's already been said just for you.

Sorry I'll just go back and read

 

[Loachman]

Thank-you.

 

[CougarKing]

So much for making a dramatic entrance at the launching of the future carrier Queen Elizabeth this Friday.

USMC F-35 Will Not Attend UK Carrier Ceremony

WASHINGTON — The US Marine Corps will not be bringing an F-35B model to the naming ceremony of the HMS Queen Elizabeth in the United Kingdom, the service announced Thursday.

The F-35B, which is making its international debut at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and the Farnborough International Airshow, starting July 9, was largely expected to make a “surprise” appearance at the ceremony, which will christen the UK’s latest carrier.

“The inclusion of F-35Bs in the HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier Naming Ceremony was explored, but neither the United States Marine Corps nor the UK Ministry of Defense confirmed or announced their participation,” Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Richard Ulsh said in a statement.

“The Marine Corps is still planning for its deployment to the UK in support of both the Royal International Air Tattoo and the Farnborough International Air Show.”

The participation of the F-35B in the naming ceremony had never been confirmed, but was strongly hinted at by everyone from F-35 program office officials to Lockheed Martin. The rumored plan would involve a trio of USMC jets wearing UK colors flying over the ship in a dramatic entrance to showcase the UK’s next-generation fighter.


(...SNIPPED)


Defense News

 

[CougarKing]

Global Competition Opens For F-35 Sustainment Deals

[defensenews] -

Jul. 6, 2014

The plan divides the F-35 user base into three regions of North America, Europe and the Pacific, with the JPO assessing what sustainment work is needed for each region and what can be done with a more centralized system, US Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the head of the JPO, told Defense News in a June 30 interview.

This marks the first details of how the fighter jets will be maintained on a global scale. Until now, it had been unclear whether original equipment manufacturers would form the core of sustainment, or whether it would be opened to competition.

<snipped>

The department has asked partner nations and foreign military sales customers to examine their industries and decide which components they would like to sustain. The JPO then takes their input, looks at the business case for each country, weighs it against operational considerations and security concerns and “assigns” — Bogdan emphasized the Pentagon will assign the roles — what each nation would be the best to handle.

It’s a strategy Bogdan believes will lead to both cost and strategic benefits. Each country will be responsible for setting up the required infrastructure on its own dime.

 

[RyanHealy29]

Global Competition Opens For F-35 Sustainment Deals

[defensenews] -

Jul. 6, 2014

So under this system, with the F-35 being the only option open to Canada where the benefits to Canadian industry is not guaranteed, we would be competing solely with the United States as the only two users in North America. Any work sent to Canada would be a job taken away from an American in the eyes of many down south, so if the sale of the F-35 were completed to Canada, going forward what would be the incentive for a large American company influenced greatly by the American government to assign any significant amount of work to Canadian industry?