F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

[tomahawk6]

Dogfighting the F-35 according to a Norwegian pilot serving with the USAF.Super read.

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-ive-learned-so-far-dogfighting-in-the-f-35-a-jsf-pilots-first-hand-account-2016-3

As we reported last year, the debate between F-35 supporters and critics became more harsh in July 2015, when War Is Boring got their hands on a brief according to which the JSF was outclassed by a two-seat F-16D Block 40 (one of the aircraft the US Air Force intends to replace with the Lightning II) in mock aerial combat.

Although we debunked some theories about the alleged capabilities of all the F-35 variants to match or considerably exceed the maneuvering performance of some of the most famous fourth-generation fighter, and explained that there is probably no way a JSF will ever match a Eurofighter Typhoon in aerial combat, we also highlighted that the simulated dogfight mentioned in the unclassified report obtained by WIB involved one of the very first test aircraft that lacked some cool and useful features.

Kampflybloggen (The Combat Aircraft Blog), the official blog of the Norwegian F-35 Program Office within the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, has just published an interesting article, that we repost here below under permission, written by Major Morten “Dolby” Hanche, one of the Royal Norwegian Air Force experienced pilots and the first to fly the F-35.

“Dolby” has more than 2,200 hours in the F-16, he is a US Navy Test Pilot School graduate, and currently serves as an instructor and as the Assistant Weapons Officer with the 62nd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

He provides a first-hand account of what dogfighting in the F-35 looks like to a pilot who has a significant experience with the F-16. His conclusions are worth a read.

Enjoy.

 

[MarkOttawa]

tomahawk6: Earlier:

http://milnet.ca/forums/threads/22809/post-1421152#msg1421152

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

US services wishlists to Congress:

Navy Submits $5B Fiscal Year 2017 Unfunded Priorities List Topped by [14] Super Hornets, [2] F-35s, Destroyer Funds
http://news.usni.org/2016/03/03/navy-submits-5b-fiscal-year-2017-unfunded-priorities-list-topped-by-super-hornets-f-35s-destroyer-funds

Air Force Asks Hill To Add $2.85B; 5 F-35s, 8 C-130Js, More People
http://breakingdefense.com/2016/03/air-force-asks-hill-to-add-2-85b-5-f-35s-8-c-130js-more-people/

Marines’ $2.7B Wishlist: 4 F-35s, 2 V-22s; 2 KC-130Js
http://breakingdefense.com/2016/03/marines-2-7b-wishlist-4-f-35s-2-v-22s-2-kc-130js/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Jarnhamar]

very first test aircraft that lacked some cool and useful features.

You would think the F35 wouldn't really need cool and useful features to defeat a 42 year old jet.

 

[CougarKing]

Note: Subscription needed for the full article below:

Aviation Week

F-35 Logistics System May Be Vulnerable To Cyberattack
Experts warn of cyber gaps in F-35 logistics system
Mar 3, 2016 Angus Batey | Aviation Week & Space Technology

The F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) will deploy its next major software release—2.0.2—in July, but concerns remain about performance and security. A report by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) released in January suggests delayed ALIS software may push back U.S. Air Force initial operational capability (IOC) and that the network’s cybersecurity has become a key concern. Lockheed Martin’s ALIS program manager, Jeff ...

(...SNIPPED)

 

[CougarKing]

The media still making an issue of the F-35 ejection seat:

Defense News

F-35 Fatal Ejection Fear Riles Congress
By Lara Seligman 5:35 p.m. EDT March 13, 2016

WASHINGTON — Concern is mounting on Capitol Hill after recent tests revealed a lightweight F-35 pilot's neck could snap when ejecting at certain speeds.

The fears focus on the Martin-Baker US16E ejection seat. During testing of the new Generation 3 helmet this summer, testers discovered the risk of fatal neck injury when a lighter pilot ejects during slower-speed flights, according to a source with knowledge of the program. Testers discovered the ejection snapped the necks of lighter-weight test dummies, the source said.

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[CougarKing]

Haven't people been saying this program is "too big to kill" since 2010?

Business Insider

The Pentagon's long-awaited fighter plane just had a massive setback
The Fiscal Times

    Jackie Leo, The Fiscal Times

If you were the CEO of an airline business and got a negative report about your new, very expensive aircraft that has been in development for a number of years, what would you say to your engineering and production managers?

The report highlights look like this:

    Key Tests Have Been Delayed Repeatedly
    Flight Controls Impact Maneuverability
    Serious Safety Concerns Remain
    Significant Logistics Software Problems
    Deferring Cyber Security Testing Leaves Aircraft Vulnerable
    Maintenance Problems Keep Aircraft Grounded
    Simulation Facility Failure Threatens Testing Program

(...SNIPPED)

And now an independent watchdog group is saying that the long list of unresolved problems means that the F-35 won’t be ready for combat until 2022. The watchdog group, the well-respected Project on Government Oversight, is basing its analysis on a recent Department of Defense report that found numerous serious problems with the fifth-generation fighter.

The watchdog analysis comes after one of the three F-35 variants has already been declared combat ready. The F-35B, designed for the Marines, was declared ready to go in July 2015. However, the jet has not been used by the Marines in combat, despite plentiful opportunities in Syria and Iraq. And the Project on Government Oversight maintains that the declaration was premature, and that official testing proves that the jet is not ready for active duty. Some analysts have speculated that the Pentagon is trying to buy hundreds of planes before testing has been completed.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[Kirkhill]

POGO, while probably respected by some, hasn't had much of a track record praising the F35, or any other defence project.

 

[Journeyman]

.... the F-35 won’t be ready for combat until 2022

Clearly  why the USAF needs $$$ for 6th Gen aircraft NOW!  :nod:

POGO, while probably respected by some.....

    ;D

 

[CougarKing]

The last hurdles to IOC for the USAF F35 fleet by the end of 2016? (key excerpts)

Defense News

What’s Left on the Air Force Checklist To Make F-35s Operational?

The Air Force plans to declare initial operating capability for its new F-35A jets by the end of 2016. Here's what they have left to do.

Lara Seligman, Defense News

(...SNIPPED)

The team is making progress toward those requirements, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Lockheed and the JPO are lagging behind schedule to finish work on the latest version of the jet's logistics system, and the Lockheed-JPO team still needs to complete a critical software fix. On top of that, the team has to finish retrofitting the fleet with the latest structural modifications. Meanwhile, the reprogramming laboratories that build the plane's vast databanks are overloaded.

But as airmen begin to actually use the fifth-generation fighter jet, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, director of the F-35 integration office, sees momentum picking up. Lockheed has delivered 87 airplanes for the Air Force, and pilots at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, have flown almost 25,000 hours on the jets, Harrigian said during a March 9 interview. Operational F-35s at both Hill and Luke have successfully employed weapons; meanwhile, the Air Force deployed six jets to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, in February.

(...SNIPPED)

ALIS Delays

Despite progress in the field, the Lockheed-JPO team are lagging behind in critical areas. The team hoped to declare IOC as early as Aug. 1, but have backed away from that target in recent weeks. Work on the latest version of the F-35’s logistics system, the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) version 2.0.2, could delay IOC by 45 to 60 days, JPO chief Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said recently.

(...SNIPPED)

Software Stability Issues

Behind ALIS, the greatest risk to Air Force IOC is software development, as Bogdan has repeatedly said. The Lockheed-JPO team is racing to fix stability issues with the next increment of software, Block 3i, which the Air Force requires for IOC. In essence, a timing misalignment of the software of the plane’s sensors and the software of its main computers are causing a “choking” effect, where the jet’s systems shut down and have to be rebooted.

(...SNIPPED)

Reprogramming Lab Overload

Another area of risk for Air Force IOC is capacity overload at the so-called reprogramming laboratories that will build the plane’s mission data files (MDF), vast databanks of information needed for combat that can be loaded into the plane. Just one reprogramming lab is currently up and operating, and it is overwhelmed with orders from international partners as well as the US services, Bogdan said.

The MDF is a critical capability that enables the F-35 to be a “smart” plane. The MDF compiles all the information about different assets in an area — from the friendly to the threatening — in a “brick” that operators can load into the airplane as a kind of reference volume.

(...SNIPPED)

Finishing Retrofit Modifications

There are a handful of modifications that still need to be retrofitted into the fleet, Babione said. But notably, the Lockheed-JPO team is well on its way to fully implementing a crucial improvement to the jet’s fuel system that is required for IOC. The fuel system needed added valving and different tubing to ensure that the jet stays within its structural limits during high-G, aggressive maneuvering, Babione said.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[Kirkhill]

Will any software ever be stabilized?  Will there ever come a time when there is no need to call up the IT guys and ask them to reboot the system?

Maybe that is the reason the Air Force is so committed to High Altitude operations.  It increases the time to impact and so gives them a greater chance of getting IT on the line.

 

[dapaterson]

...whole new meaning to "Blue Screen of Death"...

 

[SupersonicMax]

Even in our old Hornets, we have Mission Compute crashes once in a while. It'll happen.

 

[MarkOttawa]

At AvWeek:

F-35 Needs More Government Investment To Achieve $85 Million Goal

With three-quarters of industry funding to improve the affordability of the F-35 already committed to projects, Lockheed Martin estimates the savings will reduce aircraft flyaway cost by $1.7 million from production Lot 10 onwards. Additional funds are expected to save another $1 million per aircraft.

But to achieve the stated goal of reducing the flyaway cost by approximately $10 million by the end of 2019, to $85 million for the conventional F-35A, will require the government customer to begin investing in manufacturing improvements beginning in 2017.

Under the Blueprint for Affordability, industry partners Lockheed, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems agreed to invest $170 million over two years. The initiative assumes the government would provide another $300 million over the following three years to get to an $85 million aircraft.

Another $39 million in projects have been identified, for a total of $209 million, which would take per-aircraft savings to approximately $2.8 million beginning with Lot 11. Lockheed says it is “in ongoing discussions” with the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program office about these additional initiatives, “which could be industry or government investment.”..
http://aviationweek.com/defense/f-35-needs-more-government-investment-achieve-85-million-goal

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Will budget delays in major defence procurements leave F-35 with field pretty much to itself?

Canadian Budget: F-35 After All?..
https://cgai3ds.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/mark-collins-canadian-budget-f-35-after-all-surface-combatant-never-never-land/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[PuckChaser]

That's actually an interesting hypothesis, Mark. Boeing won't keep a line idle for us to have delivery mid 2020s, if they shut down like others are in the next few years, it'll leave Gripen NG as they will do technology transfer, F-35, or we buy Chinese/Russian.

 

[MilEME09]

That's actually an interesting hypothesis, Mark. Boeing won't keep a line idle for us to have delivery mid 2020s, if they shut down like others are in the next few years, it'll leave Gripen NG as they will do technology transfer, F-35, or we buy Chinese/Russian.

Dassault Rafale would be in too still, since they offered a full tech transfer, just buy the plans and build in Canada basically.

 

[Loachman]

Is the old LSVW one-use-only factory building available, or should we build a new one-use-only factory?

F35 will be cheaper, better, and generate more business for our aircraft industry over a longer period of time.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Is the old LSVW one-use-only factory building available, or should we build a new one-use-only factory?

F35 will be cheaper, better, and generate more business for our aircraft industry over a longer period of time.

Fair enough, but if the political imperative is to shovel a billion or so unearned dollars into Bombardier, then doing some sort of deal with Dassault which, as a bonus, gives us a "not the F-35" aircraft might be as good a way as any ...

 

[Old Sweat]

This is not really F35 related, but I wanted to let as many fighter pilots as possible see it.

Today we were traversing St Louis, MO on the interstate. After some searching we came across a low key local talk show remarkably devoid of US politics.

At one point they interviewed a guest who was retiring after 35 years at Mac Air. Lo and behold, it was the lady who was the voice of your old friend "Bitching Betty." To show I'm not making this up, the lady said the first thing she always said to you was "Flight Controls (pause) Flight Controls." In real life she had a slight southern accent as she was from Georgia, but she said she masked it to sound more authoritative.