E ..... mi raccomando ..... fate bene attenzione alla temperatura del carburante ..... altrimenti 'quello' non parte .....
"We painted the refuelers white to reduce the temperature of fuel being delivered to the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter," said Senior Airman Jacob Hartman, 56th LRS fuels distribution operator.
"The F-35 has a fuel temperature threshold and may not function properly if the fuel temperature is too high, so after collaborating with other bases and receiving waiver approval from AETC, we painted the tanks white."
Un premio per un'innovazione che fa risparmiare .....
The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) recently received a national manufacturing award for developing a method to build canopies for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II that could save the military $125 million over the life of the programme.
ONR spearheaded the effort to automate a thermoforming process used to create the F-35 canopy – the transparent portion of the cockpit enclosure – that will be applied to at least 2,000 of the aircraft.
The new process also makes the manufacturing work safer, ONR says.
..... annuncia, sullo 'Aerospace Daily & Defense Report' di 'AW&ST', che il roll-out del primo esemplare italiano avverrà entro il prossimo Marzo .....
Officials in Italy are preparing for the rollout of their first F-35A from the final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility at Cameri Air Base in northern Italy early next year.
That first aircraft is slated to roll off the line by March 2015.
L'articolo riporta anche alcuni dettagli riguardanti la 'FACO' di Cameri .....
"In the long bumpy road toward the F-35 fighter's deployment, nothing may be stranger than the story about hot fuel." ..... http://www.cnbc.com/id/102253195#.
In the European region, F-35 initial airframe MRO&U capability will be provided by Italy by 2018.
Should additional airframe MRO&U capability be required, the UK would be assigned to supplement the existing capability.
In the European region, engine heavy maintenance will initially be provided by Turkey, also in 2018, with Norway and the Netherlands providing additional capability approximately 2-3 years after Turkey’s initial capability.
La notizia ..... secondo il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....
F-35 Repairs in Europe .....
John A. Tirpak (12/12/2014)
The F-35 system program office on Thursday announced that Italy will do heavy aircraft maintenance and Turkey will do heavy engine maintenance on Joint Strike Fighters located in the wider European region.
Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said at a press conference that Italy won the right to do the work by virtue of its $1 billion investment in an F-35 final assembly and checkout facility on its soil, thus sharply reducing what the other partners must invest. Italy and Turkey are to be ready to do the work in 2018; in addition, Britain was designated to handle overflow aircraft work, while Norway and the Netherlands will provide additional engine capacity circa 2020.
The F-35 will be so numerous that it makes no sense for the aircraft to “fly across oceans” to get the maintenance they require, Bogdan said, explaining that there will be such nationally designated repair centers in North America, Europe, and the Pacific region.
The heavy maintenance nations in the Pacific will be named next week.
Beyond heavy maintenance, there will be moderate and light maintenance centers in all three regions.
Assignments of work will be re-evaluated every few years, and designated countries will have to demonstrate reliability to keep the work. Bogdan said there’s “hundreds of billions” of dollars worth of F-35 support work to go around, and no partners had complained about today’s selections, made by the US Defense Department on the basis of geography, operational assessments, capacity, and the “laydown of airplanes.”
Thursday’s decisions will have no bearing on where US F-35s are stationed in Europe, he said.
La signora Pawlikowski lo vede così ..... alla guida di un gregge di droni .....
“I can see a scenario where you’ve got an F-35 orchestrating an attack with 20 RPAs [remotely-piloted aircraft] that are weapons-equipped and that F-35, with all its sensors and communications, is essentially an orchestrator,” she says.
The Netherlands’ defence ministry has announced plans to order a first batch of eight operational Lockheed Martin F-35s, with the type to be delivered from 2019.
MRO&U per l'area Asia-Pacifico ..... scelti Australia e Giappone .....
The US Defense Department has chosen Australia and Japan to shoulder heavy airframe and engine maintenance for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II in the Asia-Pacific region beginning in 2018.
The two nations will split responsibility for heavy airframe maintenance, overhaul, repair and upgrade (MORU) [?] in the Pacific, with Japan covering the north of the region and Australia the south, says Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan, head of the Pentagon’s F-35 joint programme office (JPO).
South Korea said on Thursday it will not send its F-35 fleet to Japan for heavy airframe maintenance, one of the two Asian hubs chosen by the United States to service the Lockheed Martin Corp stealth fighter.
Instead, it is likely to fly the jets to Australia for maintenance, about eight times further away than Japan and well beyond their operating range.
The three nations, all key U.S. allies, are the only countries in the region to have ordered the F-35s.
MRO&U ..... motivi di sicurezza impongono scelte limitate ..... ma la 'torta' fa gola a parecchi .....
Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the head of the JPO, said that security constraints would limit the ability of other F-35 nations to maintain their own aircraft.
“We have to be very careful how we expose the F-35’s capabilities,” he told AIN.
“We won’t prevent nations doing some sovereign work, up to the limits that the U.S. allows. Right now, heavy airframe and engine maintenance is [beyond that limit] and will be done only in regional facilities with security oversight by the U.S. government,” he added.
The first Royal Australian Air Force F-35A Lightning II jet arrived at Luke Air Force Base Dec. 18, 2014.
The jet's arrival marks the first international partner F-35 to arrive for training at Luke.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Pedro Mota)
Presto ..... toccherà anche agli Italiani .....
Other partner-nations that will be joining the U.S. and Australia in the F-35A training program here will be Turkey, Italy, Norway, and the Netherlands, in addition to Foreign Military Sales countries Japan, Korea and Israel.
The US Marine Corps has received its first carrier-based Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II, marking the 36th and final delivery of a Joint Strike Fighter in 2014.
Lockheed Martin says the 22 December delivery of aircraft CF-19 meets the 36 aircraft delivery target for 2014, and marks the 109th overall delivery of operational F-35s to the USA and partner operators.
..... dal quale risulta che, in realtà, gli F-35C che dovranno ricevere non saranno più 80, come inizialmente previsto, bensì 67 .....
The F-35B and F-35C will replace F-18, AV-8B and EA-6B.
The Marine Corps will procure a total of 353 F-35Bs and 67 F-35Cs in the following squadron bed down:
•9 Squadrons x 16 F-35B
•5 Squadrons x 10 F-35B
•4 Squadrons x 10 F-35C
•2 Squadrons x 10 F-35B reserve
•2 Squadrons x 25 F-35B FRS
When the Pentagon’s nearly $400 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter finally enters service next year after nearly two decades in development, it won’t be able to support troops on the ground the way older planes can today.
Its sensors won’t be able to see the battlefield as well; and what video the F-35 does capture, it won’t be able to transmit to infantrymen in real time.
Canne roventi ..... ma non troppo ..... con quella manciata di cartucce a disposizione e ..... solo fra qualche anno .....
America’s $400 billion Joint Strike Fighter, or F-35, is slated to join fighter squadrons next year—but missing software will render its 25mm cannon useless.
The Pentagon’s newest stealth jet, the nearly $400 billion Joint Strike Fighter, won’t be able to fire its gun during operational missions until 2019, three to four years after it becomes operational.
Alla vigilia dell'entrata in servizio dello F-35B nel Corpo dei Marines ..... Amy Butler esamina, in un corposo articolo, lo stato attuale del programma JSF ..... passando pure in rassegna quelli in corso in altri paesi del mondo .....
Il JPO scende in campo ..... in difesa del cannone .....
Contrary to a report that the General Dynamics GAU-22 gun is unable to be fired until 2019, the JPO says it will be delivered when the Block 3F software becomes operational.
That delivery date is now scheduled in Fiscal 2017 with aircraft built in the ninth lot of low-rate initial production (LRIP-9).
Intanto ..... la Turchia ordina altri quattro aerei .....
Turkey's procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), said in a press release that the top panel for procurement, the Defense Industry Executive Committee, convened Monday and reviewed ongoing programs.
It said the government decided to order four more F-35s from the multinational Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) consortium, in which Turkey is a member.
The move increases Turkey's official orders to six.
Turkey plans eventually to buy 100 F-35s.
Riassumendo: è pesante, non accelera, non vira stretto, è senza cannone........bene....
Fantastico. Continuiamo così, facciamoci del male (diceva Nanni Moretti)...
...fra un po' dopo aver sentito la consulenza di qualche vecchissimo ma lucido reduce della Corea, i russi come arma principale anti-F35 rimetteranno in funzione le linee di montaggio degli archeologici MiG 17...
...leggero, di ottima accelerazione, maneggevolissimo, che vira stretto, col cannoncino...
che guidati "da un buon manichetto"... stai a vedere che...
...Mi sa che pure gli SkyHawk A4M darebbero gran filo da torcere a tanta tecnocratica presunzione...
"The curve is flattening: we can start lifting restrictions now" = "The parachute has slowed our rate of descent: we can take it off now!" Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger
Valerio Ricciardi ha scritto:... fra un po' dopo aver sentito la consulenza di qualche vecchissimo ma lucido reduce della Corea, i russi come arma principale anti-F35 rimetteranno in funzione le linee di montaggio degli archeologici MiG 17 ...
... leggero, di ottima accelerazione, maneggevolissimo, che vira stretto, col cannoncino ...
che guidati "da un buon manichetto" ... stai a vedere che ...
Altro che 'cannoncino' .....
..... con un 37 mm e due 23 mm ..... quei MiG-17 erano dei veri e propri parchi di artiglieria volanti ..... .
Due squadroni di F-35A dell'USAF saranno stanziati in Gran Bretagna .....
The US Department of Defense has confirmed it will place two squadrons of its Lockheed Martin F-35s at RAF Lakenheath, marking the first confirmed European basing of American Joint Strike Fighters.
The RAF base in Suffolk will house two US squadrons in order to maintain the USA’s air power presence in the UK. The fighters are expected to be on-station around 2020.
The U.S. military ran the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter through a series of tests aboard the USS Nimitz super carrier in San Diego in early November. It performed adequately, with one exception — it needed to send its diagnostic data to Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, before taking off.
If the most recent exercises are any indication, the F-35 may need to phone home every time it sets out on a mission.
...
If the military’s super stealth fighter is expected to out-shoot, out-jam and out-fly similar Chinese or Russian craft, it should be able to take off without calling Texas first.
Leonardo
Se l'uomo fosse stato creato per volare avrebbe avuto più soldi!
Il Belgio sfoglia la margherita ..... ma i petali sono sempre gli stessi .....
The Belgian government has started a survey process to pave the way for a program to replace the country’s F-16 fighter fleet.
The Air Combat Capability Successor Program Preparation Survey document, published on Jan. 8, follows on from a survey last June sent to the government agencies requesting information from the five perceived successors: Lockheed Martin’s F-35, the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault’s Rafale and the Saab Gripen.
Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet is on track both to meet the Marine Corps's July target to declare the jet ready for combat use and to meet the Air Force's target date a year later, top U.S. military officials said Thursday.
USMC F-35B ..... 'fully cleared to fire weapons' .....
It is still up in the air whether the US Marine Corps will have combat-ready Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs by its July 1 deadline for initial operational capability (IOC), but the first 10 jets are now fully cleared to fire weapons.
The portion of the 2B software that manages weapons separation has completed the necessary testing, the Pentagon’s Joint Program Office (JPO) announced on 15 January.
The F-35B’s software was validated after several weapons separation tests.
Programma JSF ..... Bill Sweetman ..... prevede ulteriori rischi .....
..... you could be excused for thinking that most of the F-35’s troubles are behind it.
The schedule set at the end of May 2013 may survive its second anniversary, a first for the program.
The Marines will likely declare initial operational capability this year, come hell or high water, and the latter is unlikely to be an issue at Arizona's MCAS Yuma.
Progress reportedly is being made on sorting out the engine problem that caused last June’s runway fire.
It looks as if the F-35 could meet its key performance parameter (KPP) requirements, but that is a narrow definition of success.
Development cost and schedule, and acquisition and operational expenses, were not KPPs.
Those numbers are stabilizing (it would be a disaster were they not) but are not what the program aimed for.
Programmatic risk has become a reality that users must accept.
The new aircraft touched down at the desert base on Jan. 15 after a ferry flight from Lockheed Martin's F-35 production facility in Fort Worth, Texas.
The new airframe will be used to drive tactics development at the Weapons School.
Over the next year, the school’s instructors and staff will develop a curriculum for the first F-35A Weapons Instructor Course, said school Commandant Col. Adrian Spain.
The school is scheduled to receive a total of 24 F-35As.
Nellis has hosted a separate force of F-35As for developmental and operational testing since March 2013.
The Weapons School's airplanes will initially operate under the umbrella of the 16th Weapons Squadron, the F-16 WIC unit, said Lt. Col. David Epperson, the squadron's commander.
The school will leverage knowledge from other systems as it builds F-35A expertise, and WIC instructors as well as operational test and evaluation cadre will be vital in developing tactics and thinking “outside the container, and to look into the future,” said Epperson.
Over the next two years, pilots will transition to Nellis to get important F-35A experience, which will aid in developing the school's F-35A syllabus.
The first USAFWS course is tentatively scheduled to begin in January 2018.
Maj. Gen. Jay Silveria, U.S. Air Force Warfare Center commander, answers questions from local media members after the arrival of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School’s first assigned F-35A Lightning II at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 15, 2015.
The F-35 was flown directly from the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Mikaley Towle)
Non è obsoleta ..... secondo il generale Welsh (CSM USAF) la tecnologia 'stealth' non significa soltanto 'bassa osservabilità' .....
Stealth Isn’t Obsolete .....
John A. Tirpak (1/20/2015)
There’s no danger that stealth will be overcome by new radar and other sensor technologies anytime soon, said Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh.
At a Pentagon press briefing on Jan. 15, Welsh was asked if the slowness of fielding the F-35 places the aircraft at risk of being obsolete by the time it’s available in quantity.
Welsh replied that critics assert that “stealth is no longer valuable” whenever a “piece” of what constitutes stealth is compromised.
“The reality is, stealth is a combination of things,” he said.
In addition to low-observable technology, stealth comprises “speed, … different ways of collecting data, different ways of transmitting and protecting transmissions. It is a way of breaking kill chains,” he said. Welsh said “as long as we break the kill chain … between when you arrive in the battlespace and when the enemy weapon approaches your airplane, you’re successful at using stealth. And I don’t see anything that indicates that is not going to be true 10 years from now.”
James-Welsh transcript ..... http://www.defense.gov/Transcripts/Tran ... iptID=5571
