F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

[Jarnhamar]

This Air Force General Passing Out During an F-35 Brief is the Perfect Metaphor for the Program

http://undertheradar.military.com/2016/02/this-air-force-general-passing-out-during-an-f-35-brief-is-the-perfect-metaphor-for-the-program/?ESRC=under.sm

 

[MarkOttawa]

Those foreign F-35 orders, including Canada?

Joint Strike Fighter chief plays down F-35A deferrals

The head of the multinational F-35 programme Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan is playing down the US Air Force’s decision to reduce its annual purchase of F-35A Lightning IIs from 60 to 48 per year until fiscal year 2021. He says the overall adjustment translates to just 20 fewer orders in the six years from 2016 to 2021 when accounting for other adjustments by the US Navy and Marine Corps and international orders.

That math doesn’t delete Canada, which remains a programme partner but intends to withdraw and hold a competition to replace its CF-18s...

Bogdan said at a briefing in Washington DC today {Feb. 10] that the deferral by the air force would raise the overall unit cost by “less than 1%”.

“We have all kinds of puts and takes with our eight partners and three [foerign military sales] customers, both in 2017 and in the future,” he says. “The plan last year was to build 893 airplanes [from fiscal 2016 to 2021]. Now we’re going to build 873 airplanes.”

Of those 873 aircraft, 54% are being procured by the US government. “Relative to the cost of the airplane and FMS commitment, it’s a non-news event,” Bogdan claims...
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/joint-strike-fighter-chief-plays-down-f-35a-deferral-421798/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

ALIS anyone?

F-35 Chief Lays Out Biggest Development Risks

Ahead of a fast-approaching deadline for the US Air Force to declare its variant of the F-35 joint strike fighter operational this summer, the general in charge of the program laid out the biggest risks ahead in development of the fifth-generation fighter jet.

During a roundtable with reporters Wednesday [Feb. 10], Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, head of the F-35 joint program office (JPO), stressed that the Pentagon and industry team are making great strides. The team has completed 80 percent of the plane’s system development and demonstration (SDD) program, he said.

Meanwhile, the JPO is in final negotiations with contractor Lockheed Martin on the ninth and tenth batches of the jet, and expects to get the unit cost down to the target of $80 to $85 million by 2019.

Beyond 2019, Bogdan expects the price-per-jet to come down even more as the program adds international customers and generates additional savings with an expected bulk purchase starting in FY19 through FY21. This so-called “block buy” could yield well over $2 billion in savings over three years for the 14 international partners, Bogdan said...

Autonomic Logistics Information System

For the F-35 program, the number one area of risk is the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), Bogdan said. ALIS is the backbone to the F-35 fleet, designed as a kind of internal diagnostic system that tracks the health of each part of each plane worldwide.

As the JPO updates ALIS by way of new increments, the team is still trying to fix many of the original problems, Bogdan said...
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/strike/2016/02/10/f-35-chief-lays-out-biggest-development-risks/80202432/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

From the general's mouth:

F-35 Chief Lays Out Biggest Development Risks

Ahead of a fast-approaching deadline for the US Air Force to declare its variant of the F-35 joint strike fighter operational this summer, the general in charge of the program laid out the biggest risks ahead in development of the fifth-generation fighter jet.

During a roundtable with reporters Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, head of the F-35 joint program office (JPO), stressed that the Pentagon and industry team are making great strides. The team has completed 80 percent of the plane’s system development and demonstration (SDD) program, he said.

Meanwhile, the JPO is in final negotiations with contractor Lockheed Martin on the ninth and tenth batches of the jet, and expects to get the unit cost down to the target of $80 to $85 million by 2019.

Beyond 2019, Bogdan expects the price-per-jet to come down even more as the program adds international customers and generates additional savings with an expected bulk purchase starting in FY19 through FY21. This so-called “block buy” could yield well over $2 billion in savings over three years for the 14 international partners, Bogdan said.

But despite progress in maturing the program and bringing down the cost, Bogdan still sees several areas of risk before the Air Force declares initial operational capability with its F-35A models on Aug. 1. Overall, there are 419 deficiencies in the SDD program the JPO must mitigate, he said.

Autonomic Logistics Information System

For the F-35 program, the number one area of risk is the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), Bogdan said...

Software Development

Behind ALIS, the biggest risk to the F-35 program is software development, Bogdan said. The JPO is currently working to finish the next increment of software, Block 3i, as well as the final software block required for full war-fighting capability, Block 3F. The Marine Corps declared its F-35B models operational with Block 2B software last summer; the Air Force needs Block 3i to do the same this summer.

The JPO is still seeing some problems with software “stability” — a measure of how well the sensors work — and is behind in getting mature versions to flight test, Bogdan said...
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/strike/2016/02/10/f-35-chief-lays-out-biggest-development-risks/80202432/

Mark
Ottawa 

 

[CougarKing]

Another milestone and another cut:

Air Recognition

US Air Force conducts first simulated F-35A Lightning II fighter jet deployment

A much anticipated and important test mission for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program is underway with the "deployment" of six operational test and evaluation F-35s and more than 85 Airmen from USAF's 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, who arrived Feb. 8-9, the US Air Force said today.

(...SNIPPED)

Defense News

F-35 Production To Drop by 20, but Air Force Officials Downplay Price Impact
By Lara Seligman, Defense News 4:04 a.m. EST February 12, 2016

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has unveiled a new funding profile for the F-35 joint strike fighter, reflecting a drop in fighter jet acquisition over the next six years across the US services, international partners and foreign customers.

Lockheed Martin and the F-35 joint program office will build 20 fewer planes over that timeframe for the US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, international partners and foreign customers, JPO Chief Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan told reporters during a Feb. 10 media roundtable. Instead of building 893 fighter jets from fiscal 2016 to FY21, as planned last year, the government and industry team will produce 873, he said.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[MarkOttawa]

foreign partners want to get those costs down:

International F-35 customers pushing block-buy plan

International buyers of the Lockheed Martin F-35 are considering leading the US government in entering into a three-year “block buy” arrangement for planned orders between 2018 and 2020.

The process of lumping everybody’s orders into the one multi-year contract with Lockheed Martin and F-35 propulsion system manufacturer Pratt & Whitney could generate over $2 billion in savings, according to F-35 Joint Programme Office director Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan.

The F-35 chief said at a press briefing in Washington DC this week that the programme partners and foreign military sales customers are keen to bulk-purchase the jets starting in fiscal year 2018 even though the Pentagon has decided not to enter into that type of “economic order quantity buy” until fiscal 2019.

Last year, US under-secretary of defence for acquisition Frank Kendall first floated the prospect of ordering up to 450 domestic and international jets in one three-year deal to start in 2018, but his office has since postponed those plans by one year.

“The issues that we have now is that our FMS customers and our partners, they still want to do a block-buy starting in [fiscal year 2018] because there is a massive amount of savings to be had with or without the services starting in FY18,” Bogdan says. “We’re talking right now of savings across the 14 partners of well over $2 billion in three years. I’ll tell you that’s a conservative estimate, quite frankly.”..
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/international-f-35-customers-pushing-block-buy-plan-421870/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[CougarKing]

Let's see if this is not just optimism:

Bloomberg

F-35 Fighter Jet Flaws Can Be Overcome, U.S. Marine General Says
Rachel Chang
February 17, 2016 — 1:29 AM PST

The U.S. military remains confident that any operating flaws in Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 fighter jets -- the costliest U.S. weapons program -- will be rectified, according to a senior Marine Corps officer.

“We are operating the airplane, training in the airplane, making us ready to deploy to the Pacific,” Lieutenant General Jon M. Davis, deputy commandant for aviation, said Wednesday in a briefing on the sidelines of the Singapore Air Show. “We have developed workarounds to get around any deficiencies we have seen out there. Right now, operating capabilities and advantage we get from this airplane far outweigh any deficiencies.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[The Bread Guy]

So, is it in, or is it out?  Yes!

The federal defence minister appeared to back further away from a Liberal election promise on Thursday, suggesting that the procurement process for Canada’s next generation of fighter jets could include bids by Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-35.

While delivering an address at the Conference of Defence Associations Institute in Ottawa, Harjit Sajjan was asked whether the Liberals would allow the F-35 jet to be part in the bidding competition to replace Canada’s current CF-18 aircraft. He replied that the bidding process would be “open,” and explained that the government first needs to work out the specific requirements for its new jets, then it will move to accept bids.

Pressed further, Sajjan referred reporters to his ministerial mandate letter, which states that he must work “with the Minister of Public Services and Procurement to launch an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft, focusing on options that match Canada’s defence needs.”

Sajjan’s statements on Thursday seemed to directly contradict the Liberal election platform, which explicitly states that Canada “will not buy the F-35 stealth fighter-bomber” under a Liberal government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged that his government would withdraw from the program, buy a cheaper fighter jet chosen by competition and redirect the savings into rebuilding the navy ....

:dunno:

 

[Kirkhill]

Let's see if this is not just optimism:

Bloomberg

“We have developed workarounds"

That right there.

That maybe the reason the Pentagon has allowed the USMC to go first with the F-35.  If I understand correctly, the USMC has long had to "make do" with kit available from the system (Osprey notwithstanding) and then try to incorporate it into doctrine, adjusting TTPs to suit.

The USAF, the USN and even the Army seem more accustomed to getting kit delivered to match doctrine. 

 

[CougarKing]

A USAF general having to defend the F-35 in front of the Australian Senate:

ABC News (Australia)

US commander defends Joint Strike Fighter F-35A ahead of Senate inquiry
By Sally Brooks and James Dunlevie
Updated Mon Feb 22 10:56:44 EST 2016

The American head of the global Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program has acknowledged the software in the aircraft is "a big risk" ahead of a Senate inquiry into the Federal Government's acquisition of the jets.

Australia is spending $17.8 billion on buying 72 US-made aircraft and associated systems, with the first expected to arrive in Australia in 2018 and enter service in 2020, replacing the F/A-18 Hornet fleet.

US Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, the head of the JSF Joint Program Office, is set to appear before an Australian Senate inquiry into the Federal Government's acquisition of the F-35A jets in Canberra on Thursday.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[Kirkhill]

Canada to stay in program of F-35 jet buyers despite pledge to withdraw

STEVEN CHASE
OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 9:13PM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 9:15PM EST

The Canadian government intends to make a payment this spring to remain part of the consortium of F-35 Lightning fighter-jet buyers, despite a Liberal election promise to exclude the aircraft when selecting this country’s next warplane.

The move raises questions about whether the Liberal government is reconsidering its ban on purchasing the controversial F-35 jet.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s party announced during last year’s election campaign that it “no longer makes sense” to buy a fighter with the F-35’s stealth, first-strike capability, citing skyrocketing costs for a plane that has been plagued with development problems. The Liberals vowed instead to buy a “lower-priced” aircraft and funnel the money saved into the Royal Canadian Navy.

This week, however, Department of National Defence spokeswoman Ashley Lemire said Canada plans to pay the latest required annual instalment to the Joint Strike Fighter program. She said the upcoming payment is estimated to be $32.9-million (U.S.)

The contribution would maintain Canada’s membership in the F-35 buyers’ pool. This gives Ottawa the right to buy F-35s at a discount and allows Canadian companies to continue to bid on supply contracts for the plane.

.....

Conservative Senator Daniel Lang said the federal government’s decision to stay in the program is puzzling.

“Why would anybody spend millions of dollars to stay in a program they’re not going to participate in?” said Mr. Lang, who chairs the Senate national security and defence committee.

Leaving the Joint Strike Fighter program would hurt Canadian business because companies would no longer be able to bid on contracts to supply parts and software for the plane.

Canadian companies have won more than $750-million in contracts related to the F-35 because Canada has been a partner in the program for decades. Should the Liberals exit the program, Canadian firms’ contracts will wind down and they will not be eligible to bid on further work.

“At this time, Canada remains in the Joint Strike Fighter program, which ensures Canada can continue to benefit from economic opportunities resulting from the partnership while we work to determine the way forward,” the Defence Department’s Ms. Lemire said.

One procurement expert working for the federal government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it’s unclear whether Ottawa could successfully defend against legal action should it bar jet maker Lockheed Martin and its F-35 plane from a competition. “They will have to decide whether they want to run a competition or face a lawsuit.… The easiest option for a variety of reasons is to run a competition and run it fairly.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-to-stay-in-program-of-f-35-jet-buyers-despite-pledge-to-withdraw/article28897002/


The F35 has already put almost as much money into Quebec Aerospace as the proposed Bombardier bailout.  And I don't doubt that the existing contracts will bring it up to at least comparable levels.

Anybody doubt that the exact same voices that are clamouring for a Bombardier bailout are also clamouring for the F35?

Saw a posting recently that applies to PM Trudeau: "You're not pizza.  You can't please everyone."

 

[Loachman]

Especially a pizza with no cheese, no sauce, and only one topping - it is very nice hair, though.

 

[CougarKing]

The USAF's General Bogdan continues to present his case before the Australian Senate:

Defense News

Bogdan: Australian F-35 Block Buy Still Possible
By Nigel Pittaway, Defense News 4:10 p.m. EST February 25, 2016

CANBERRA, Australia — The head of the F-35 International Joint Program Office told Australian officials that a block buy across low rate initial production lots 12, 13 and 14 is still possible despite the US services not being able to fully participate.

US Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan was in Canberra to testify at a Senate inquiry into Australia’s purchase of 72 F-35A aircraft to replace its F/A-18A/B Hornet fleet. Prior to the Senate hearing and on the eve of the release of Australia’s defense white paper on Wednesday, he briefed Australian reporters on the Joint Strike Fighter program.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[CougarKing]

Thai Military and Asia blogspot

According to ARUTZ SHEVA
Israel reconsidering 2008 purchase of U.S. jets

By Hillel Fendel First Publish: 2/29/2016, 3:43 AM
Cabinet mulls cancelling acquisition of flawed fighter-jet rejected by most NATO air forces.

A welcome decision made back in 2008 to purchase U.S.-made Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jets no longer appears very attractive in 2016 – and Israel is considering backtracking on it.

So say Israeli government sources quoted by Middle East Newsline (MENL).

(...SNIPPED)

 

[MarkOttawa]

More Super Hornets for USN FY 2017 (starts Oct. 1 2016)?

Lawmakers: Give Navy More F/A-18s

The US Navy is planning to request 12 more F/A-18 Super Hornets than the two it was allocated in the president’s 2017 defense budget, according to a House lawmaker.

Citing overtaxed naval aviation assets, Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., asked the House Armed Services Committee to consider adding the aircraft through the 2017 defense policy bill expected to be drafted over the coming weeks. The chief of naval operations, Wagner said, will place the 12 aircraft on the service's unfunded requirement list.

“There is still a potential gap this year,” said Wagner, whose district is near where Boeing assembles the aircraft in St. Louis.

“Given the critical capability that the Super Hornet provides for ongoing wartime operations, any shortfall is dangerous to the Navy’s ability to project force throughout the world,” Wagner said. “This unfunded requirement request helps mitigate that shortfall, anticipating the Navy will follow through on its promise to add aircraft in the next year’s budget deliberations.”

Bost, whose district borders St. Louis, called the procurement of added Super Hornets, “critical to meeting the anticipated needs of the United States Navy and to keeping the production lines open as the United States prepares anticipated aircraft sales to allied nations.”

There are only two F-18s in the president's fiscal 2017 request, both funded in through the Overseas Contingency Operations account, with plans to buy 14 of the aircraft in 2018, reversing a decision to end US procurement of the Boeing-built aircraft. Wagner called for Congress to add 12 aircraft to the Navy future-years defense program, an increase from 16 to 28 [emphasis added].

Plans have been in the works to retire the F/A-18C Hornets in the mid-2020s, followed by the F/A-18E and F Super Hornets around 2035, but the consistently delayed development of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter has compelled the service to push the Hornets past their planned service lives...
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2016/03/01/lawmakers-give-navy-more-f-18s/81161908/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

One pilot's view (note The Donald!):

Norwegian pilot counters leaked F-35 dogfight report

A Norwegian fighter pilot has published a soft rebuttal to a damaging critique leaked last summer about the Lockheed Martin F-35A’s dogfighting prowess, contradicting many of the critical points made in the scathing review written by a Lockheed test pilot.

Royal Norwegian Air Force Maj Morten “Dolby” Hanche, a US Navy test pilot school graduate with 2,200 flight hours in Lockheed F-16s, has flown several mock dogfights from Luke AFB in Arizona since becoming the nation’s first F-35 pilot last November. These have yet to advance to performing "dissimilar" training against other aircraft types.

In a blog post on Norway’s Ministry of Defence website, Hanche never directly mentions the leaked report; entitled “F-35A High Angle of Attack Operational Maneuvers”, dated 14 January 2015, and exposed last June by blogger David Axe on WarIsBoring.com.

But it is clear that Hanche’s review seeks to shoot down the anonymous pilot's many complaints about the F-35, which have been cited by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has vowed on the campaign trail to cancel the Joint Strike Fighter programme [emphasis added]...

Hanche writes on the MoD’s official blog that he is “impressed by how quickly the F-35 accelerates when I reduce the [angle of attack]”, suggesting the aircraft instead rapidly regains energy after “breaking” to a near stop with its nose pointed up to 40˚ high in mid-air.

Hanche also writes that the F-35 can tilt its nose upward under control beyond the ability of the F-16. Even at these extreme angles, the pilot can still “point” the nose easily by simply tapping the rudder pedals, Hanche says, adding that he is “impressed with the stability and predictability of the airplane”.

That again puts Hanche’s review at odds with the leaked test report. The Lockheed test pilot complained that the controls of his particular F-35A – the AF-2 prototype – felt, by turns, sluggish, counter-intuitive and non-responsive in twisting maneouvres with the F-16 Block 40.

In one area, Hanche and the Lockheed test pilot share similar concerns about the F-35’s cockpit visibility, but come to different conclusions about the scale of the problem.

Both pilots agreed that the head rest makes it harder to look for targets behind the aircraft. But the Norwegian pilot suggests that his Lockheed counterpart over-stated the problem after a single flight experience. By learning to tilt forward in his seat before looking behind, Hanche makes the point that he found a way to mitigate the visibility problem through trial and error after a few flights.

Hanche also makes another point that may seem surprising nearly a decade after the first F-35A prototype completed first flight. Due to several programme delays, the US Air Force is still learning how to use the F-35A in combat. Initial operational capability for the variant is scheduled later this year.

“The final ‘textbook’ for how to best employ the F-35 in visual combat – basic fighter maneouvres – has not been written yet,” Hanche says. “It is literally being written by my neighbour down here in Arizona!”
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/norwegian-pilot-counters-leaked-f-35-dogfight-report-422552/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GR66]

One pilot's view (note The Donald!):

Mark
Ottawa

One comment in the article seemed curious to me..."Both pilots agreed that the head rest makes it harder to look for targets behind the aircraft. But the Norwegian pilot suggests that his Lockheed counterpart over-stated the problem after a single flight experience. By learning to tilt forward in his seat before looking behind, Hanche makes the point that he found a way to mitigate the visibility problem through trial and error after a few flights."

Wouldn't that (tilting forward in your seat) be a difficult adjustment to make in actual combat situations where you may be pulling Gs?

 

[SupersonicMax]

You normally set your neck before you pull G's.  When you need to reset your head, your normally have to unload the aircraft anyways so you do it as you unload. 

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Wasn't the F-35 going to have the "see-through" the airplane helmet, like the Eurofighter?

 

[MarkOttawa]

USMC F-35B angle:

Marine Corps has major problems with its planes and helicopters

Marine aviation squadrons are suffering more than ground units after 15 years of war and deep budget cuts, Commandant Gen. Robert Neller told lawmakers on Tuesday.

“We would — as a goal — like to have 80 percent of our units ready to go,” Neller said at House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing. “We’re not quite there, particularly on the aviation side.”..

Aviation is “a little different story,” due to the delays in the F-35 program, budget cuts and other issues, Neller said...

The Marine Corps declared in July that the F-35B had achieved initial operational capability. The fighters still require new software and other upgrades before being combat ready.

“We have one operational squadron that will deploy to Japan this January,” Neller said at Tuesday’s hearing. “We’re going to form another squadron this year.”

The Marine Corps has a plan to improve aviation readiness, but it is going to take time — especially for squadrons that are swapping out older aircraft for the F-35B, Neller said.

“It takes us 18 to 24 months to take a squadron down, give them a new airplane, train them up and put them back out there,” he said...
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/military/2016/03/01/marine-corps-has-major-problems-its-planes-and-helicopters/81171340/

Mark
Ottawa