JSF

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L' aereo delle meraviglie in un recente video rilasciato da LM .....

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The F-35 is “incredibly good” and “a remarkable product” .....



..... "Sing We Now of the F-35" .....
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E LM incassa ..... $ $ $ $ $ .....

Lockheed Martin boasted a 15% sales growth compared to their third quarter last year, driven by the company’s acquisition of Sikorsky and higher F-35 deliveries.
Increased aircraft production and sustainment activities for the F-35 programme garnered Lockheed $300 million in net sales.
That boosted the company’s aeronautics division by $267 million, or about 7%, this quarter compared to the same time last year.
But that boost was tempered by decreased sustainment activities for the C-5 programme, the company says in a statement.
The Sikorsky acquisition served as a shot in the arm to Lockheed’s rotary and mission system division, which saw net sales in the third quarter of 2016 increase by $1.2 billion, or 55%, compared to last year.

Fonte ..... "F-35 and Sikorsky propel Lockheed earnings growth" .....

LM ..... "Lockheed Martin Reports Third Quarter 2016 Results" .....
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LRIP lotti 9 e 10 ..... il lungo negoziato si avvicina alla conclusione .....

Northrop Grumman has completed negotiations with Lockheed Martin on pricing for low-rate initial production (LRIP) lots 9 and 10 of the F-35, suggesting the prime contractor may be close to wrapping up a 15-month negotiating period with the US joint programme office (JPO), Northrop chief executive Wes Bush says.
Northrop’s supplier deal precedes the resolution of the LRIP 9/10 contract between Lockheed as the prime contractor and the JPO, Bush adds.
“We have completed our negotiations on lots 9 and 10 with Lockheed, which is typical for a prime contractor to want to lock down its supply chain as it finishes off negotiations with a customer,” Bush told analysts on a third quarter earnings call on 26 October.

Fonte ..... "F-35 supplier deal suggests Lockheed close on LRIP 9/10 contract" .....
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ALIS ..... ovvero ..... come mettere a cuccia il 'guardone' .....

Lockheed's ALIS is programmed to keep track of thousands of operational details about the F-35 fleet, including data from health monitoring systems on board the aircraft as well as the training and flight logs for each of the pilots.
As the global data hub, ALIS is supposed to order parts and schedule training as they are needed, saving operators the burden of managing and back-filling spare inventories.
For the system to work, the jet must automatically transmit information after and even during each flight by an F-35 to Lockheed's ALIS hub in Fort Worth, Texas.
But that automated stream of data also worries some of the F-35's international customers.

Fonte ..... "New F-35 software could quell ALIS sovereignty concerns" .....
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Un MV-22B in versione aero-cisterna per gli F-35B dei Marines .....

Cobham announced a contract from the Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office to develop a palletized aerial refueling system for U.S. Marine Corps’ MV-22B Ospreys.
The Marines will use the tiltrotor to extend the operational range and loiter times of the F-35B Lightning II and F/A-18 Hornet.
The roll-on, roll-off V-22 Aerial Refueling System (VARS) will use Cobham’s existing FR300 Hose Drum Unit with some modifications.
The FR300, mounted in centerline configuration, extends and retracts a refueling hose to supply probe-equipped receiver aircraft.
It is installed in most C-130 wing-mounted pods, according to Cobham.

Fonte ..... "Cobham Develops MV-22B Aerial Refueling Capability" .....

Cobham ..... "Cobham Contracted to Develop Aerial Refueling Kit for V-22[/u]" .....
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Al largo della California meridionale .....

Five Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning IIs landed on the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) on Friday, October 28, off the coast of southern California.
America will embark seven F-35Bs; of which two are scheduled to begin the F-35B’s third shipboard phase of developmental test (DT-III) and five are scheduled to conduct operational testing.

Fonte ..... "F-35Bs embark USS America for DT-III" .....

Anche qui ..... con maggiori dettagli ..... "F-35 Lightning II Testing Begins on USS America" .....
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Tornano in servizio .....

Two of Hill’s affected jets flew again on Oct. 24 after undergoing the repair process that requires cutting through the aircraft skin and stripping the faulty coating from the coolant lines, according to a 75th Air Base Wing release.
Three more are expected to be repaired by Nov. 4.

Fonte ..... "Grounded F-35s Returning to Flight" .....
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Lotto n°9 ..... dopo mesi e mesi di stressanti tira e molla il Pentagono si stufa e rompe gli indugi .....
..... cosa che LM non gradisce .....

The Pentagon on Wednesday evening announced a $6.1 billion contract with Lockheed Martin for the ninth lot of joint strike fighter aircraft, but the F-35 manufacturer is not happy with the terms of the arrangement, which was not mutually agreed upon, according to a company spokesman.
The contract covers 57 low rate initial production (LRIP) aircraft, which will be procured for 3.7 percent less than the LRIP 8 batch of jet, the F-35 joint program office stated.

Fonte ..... "Pentagon Moves Forward — Unilaterally — on $6.1B Contract for Ninth F-35 Lot" .....

FlightGlobal ..... Lockheed awarded $6.1 billion deal for 57 F-35 airframes

Solo pochi giorni fa ..... "Lockheed CFO: No Agreement Yet on Price, Profit for F-35 Lots 9 and 10" .....
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Al largo della California meridionale ..... a bordo dela USS America .....

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Il Daily Report dell' AFA riferisce ampiamente del contratto Lot 9 imposto a LM ...

"Pentagon Halts Talks, Imposes F-35 Contract" .....

"Cost Reductions From One-Way Contract" .....

"And What About Lot 10?" .....
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Lotto 9 ..... il Direttore di RID (Rivista Italiana Difesa) ..... usa la parola CAOS .....

"Caos F-35: contratto solo per il LRIP-9" .....

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Il senatore McCain all' attacco ..... tanto per cambiare .....

In a scathing letter sent to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on Thursday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he is “extremely disappointed” with “the troubled performance, continued delays, and persistent cost overruns” in the F-35 program.

Fonte ..... "McCain Rips DOD On F-35 Program .....

Inoltre ..... " McCain Calls F-35 Decision “Acquisition Malpractice” " .....

La rielezione del ruvido senatore sarà in ballo a giorni ..... riuscirà ancora una volta a mantenere il seggio ?
http://www.johnmccain.com/
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Piloti provenienti da paesi partner stanno partecipando, presso la Edwards AFB, ai collaudi del missile norvegese JSM destinato all' integrazione sugli F-35A .....

From Norway to Australia, members from a number of allied and partner nations have come to Edwards Air Force Base to team with base units to test systems, enhance international cooperation and advance their own air force’s capabilities.
At the 416th Flight Test Squadron, a team of U.S. Air Force engineers and pilots are working with Norwegian government and industry personnel in testing the Joint Strike Missile.
The JSM is designed to be carried in the F-35A’s internal weapons bay and is the only powered, anti-surface warfare missile to do so according to Norwegian officials, said James Cook, the 416th FLTS JSM program manager.
The JSM is an advanced missile made of composite materials and uses stealth technology.
It has air intakes, fold-out wings and tail fins.
The navigation system supports terrain-following flight and can be used against sea- and land-based targets.

Fonte ..... "Edwards AFB squadron tests missile for European ally’s F-35" .....

A quanto si vede ..... l' Italia non è presente ..... e non credo che, attualmente, vi siano fondi disponibili che le permettano l' integrazione dell' ultima versione del missile Marte ..... sempre ammesso che la cosa sia tecnicamente fattibile ..... http://www.mbda-systems.com/maritime-su ... /marte-er/
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Il JPO (Joint Program Office) batte cassa .....

The F-35 joint program office (JPO) will need an additional $530 million to complete development of the joint strike fighter program, it confirmed this week.
While no supplemental funding will be needed for fiscal 2017, the JPO will need to request about $530 million more than planned to pay for developmental flight testing and initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) flight tests in fiscal 2018 and 2019, said JPO spokesman Joe DellaVedova.
“Most of this needed funding will come from other F-35 JPO funding sources to minimize the impact on the US services and [Department of Defense] overall budget requirements,” he said.
“No additional funding will be required from the international partners.”

E meno male .....

Fonte ..... "F-35 Program Office Seeking an Extra $530M to Wrap Up Development" .....

Bloomberg News ..... "The Lockheed F-35 Needs Another Half Billion Dollars" .....
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Ripresa dei voli dei velivoli riparati ...... qualche ulteriore dettaglio .....

"First Norwegian, Third U.S. F-35 Fly After Insulation Fix" .....

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Distribuzione .....

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) assigned the first countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region to perform component repairs of the F-35 Lightning II.
The assignments announced on November 7 cover 8 percent of the repairable work the DOD plans to make available outside of the U.S.

Fonte ..... "Pentagon Assigns First F-35 Component Repair Facilities" .....

Altre fonti .....

DefenseNews ..... "UK, Australia Score Big F-35 Repair Work Agreements" .....

f35.com (LM) ..... "F-35 MRO&U Initial Component Global Assignments Made by DoD" .....

GOV.UK. ..... "UK chosen as a global F-35 repair hub" .....
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Incendio a bordo .....

An F-35B Joint Strike Fighter with the Marine Corps’ training squadron experienced a fire in its weapons bay during a training mission on Oct. 27, and the service is still investigating, according to a statement provided to USNI News.
The plane from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 501, Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing landed safely after the pilot was alerted to the problem, and no injuries were reported.

Fonte ..... "F-35B In Training Squadron Experienced Fire In Weapons Bay; Investigation Ongoing" .....
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Incendio a bordo ..... i Marines indagano .....

Two systems, including the Honeywell-supplied integrated power package (IPP) linked to a previous aircraft fire, failed as a fire erupted inside the weapons bay of a US Marine Corps Lockheed Martin F-35B on a 27 October training mission.
Sensors onboard the aircraft detected a fire in the right weapons bay and failures of the IPP and a hydraulics system while the aircraft was flying in the airport's landing pattern, according to a mishap report released by the Naval Safety Center.
The center has classified the incident as a class A mishap, meaning the aircraft suffered at least $2 million in damages .....

Fonte ..... "US Marine Corps investigating cause of F-35B fire" .....

DefenseNews ..... "Marine Corps F-35B catches fire during training flight" .....
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Trump & F-35 ..... incertezza ..... per ora .....

In campaign speeches, Trump also has singled out the Pentagon's most expensive weapons programme – the Lockheed Martin F-35 – for mild criticism: "I do hear it's not very good," Trump said on a radio show on 22 October 2015.
But that represents all of Trump's commentary about the programme, and it seems more an offhand remark than a true policy position.
Trump's official platform contains no reference to the F-35 – or any other weapons acquisition programme, for that matter.

Fonte ..... "ANALYSIS: Trump victory means uncertainty for aerospace suppliers" .....
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Al di là della Manica era stato dato, alcuni giorni fa, parecchio risalto a questa notizia .....

The Ministry of Defence is pleased to announce that the UK has been chosen by the F-35 Program Office to be a global repair hub providing maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade services for F-35 avionic and aircraft components.
Over the lifetime of the programme, components for hundreds of European-based F-35 aircraft will be serviced and maintained in North Wales.
This work will generate hundreds of millions of pounds of revenue for the UK defence industry, with the potential to unlock more than £2Bn of future F-35 support revenue over the lifetime of the programme.
This will help sustain thousands of high tech jobs and skills.
The work will involve maintenance and repair of systems for the F-35 aircraft including electronic and electrical components, fuel, mechanical and hydraulic systems, and ejection seats.

Fonte (molto ufficiale) ..... "UK chosen as a global F-35 repair hub" .....

Probabilmente c' era stata una qualche forma di 'incomprensione' .....

Britain will have to send its supersonic F-35 fighter jets to Italy for heavy overhauls, the UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed to The Register.
BAE Systems will maintain an airframe maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) capability at RAF Marham in Norfolk, according to a US announcement earlier this week.
However, that will only be used if Italy, the Americans' designated airframe overhaul point in Europe, is unable to cope with demand.
"The F-35 programme is based on a global support solution concept. This is the most cost effective way to deliver the F-35 support solution and is based on economies of scale," the MoD told The Register, adding: "The UK is establishing an F-35 airframe maintenance facility at RAF Marham to maintain UK aircraft. However, regional Airframe 'Heavy' MRO&U and Engine MRO&U will be undertaken in Italy and Turkey."
In Europe, F-35 heavy maintenance will be carried out by the UK for the aircraft's avionics, and as noted above, Italy for the airframes and Turkey for the jets' F135 engines.

Fonte ..... "Britain must send its F-35s to Italy for heavy overhauls, decrees US" .....
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F-35 ... cha farà Trump ?

Donald Trump’s doubts about the $379 billion F-35 jet, the Pentagon’s largest weapons program, could cast a pall over the de..fense industry’s early euphoria that a major boost in spending is coming after the next administration takes office.
The stealthy fighter built by Lockheed Martin Corp. was the only major weapons program Trump questioned during the campaign, even as he espoused the need for a larger Army and more warships.
In an October 2015 interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump criticized the jet’s costs and said he heard “that it’s not very good. I’m hearing that our existing planes are better.”
He’ll have to decide quickly whether that skepticism still stands.
Soon after taking office in January, Trump will be faced with some key decisions about the F-35 and other weapons systems.

Fonte ..... "Trump’s Doubts on F-35 Jet Cast Pall on Pace of Defense Buildup" .....
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Pronto per l'impiego sul campo .....
I generali USA non vedono l' ora di averlo a loro disposizione .....

Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hawk Carlisle said he has "absolutely no doubt" the F-35 will be deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
Speaking Wednesday during Defense IQ's International Fighter conference in London, Carlisle emphasised the stealth fighter's data-fusion and ISR capabilities could be key attributes in the anti-ISIS fight.

Fonte ..... "Carlisle Expects F-35 to Join Anti-ISIS Fight" .....
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Ma il DOT&E J. Michael Gilmore la pensa diversamente ..... e spara un ennesimo ceffone .....

The Pentagon's top weapons tester has never been shy about hammering Lockheed Martin's F-35.
In an Oct. 14 memo to the Defense Secretary, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation J. Michael Gilmore once again slammed the program for continued schedule delays, insufficient testing progress, and ongoing challenges with major systems.
He "very strongly" recommended DOD restructure the program.
The full 8-page document surfaces as Gilmore turns up the heat on the F-35 program.

Fonte ..... "DOT&E Memo: F-35 Still Challenged" .....

La gatta da pelare passerà dunque nelle mani del nuovo Presidente .....
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Tutti riparati .....

Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force have finished repairs on the last of 13 F-35As affected by a faulty insulation issue earlier this year, though work continues on Lockheed’s production aircraft.
The coolant line glitch hit 57 aircraft in September, including 15 fielded F-35As and 42 production aircraft.
Repairs to the fielded jets began 7 October and later that month, two F-35As at Hill Air Force Base, Utah were returned to flying operations.
In early November, the USAF also fixed one Norwegian jet stationed at Luke AFB, AZ.

Fonte ..... "USAF completes insulation repairs on operational F-35s" .....
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Trump ..... nonostante le sue iniziali critiche al programma .....

..... now that Trump will assume the presidency, it’s unlikely he will slow the F-35 program down, and could accelerate it with an expected rise in the Pentagon’s budget -  and to fulfill his own plan to grow the U.S. Air Force’s fighter strength.
In any case, the F-35 program long ago become unstoppable in Washington.
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There is an unkillable amount of inertia behind the F-35.
Ditching it, at this point, would mean eliminating thousands of jobs -  and wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars -  over decades of work to get the program where it is today.

Fonte ..... "The F-35 Stealth Fighter Is Politically Unstoppable -  Even Under President Trump" .....
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Ben 12 F-35B a bordo della USS America .....

..... pilots put the fifth-generation fighter to the test in a carrier proof of concept demonstration aboard the USS America Nov. 18-20.
Sailors and Marines loaded the large-deck amphibious assault ship with 12 F-35Bs – the most F-35s aboard a ship, ever – two MV-22B Ospreys, one UH-1Y Venom and one AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters for the three-day exercise off the coast of San Diego, California.

Fonte ..... "Watch As F-35B Nails Vertical Landings Aboard USS America" .....

Marines TV ..... http://www.marines.mil/News/Marines-TV/ ... t%20Videos
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USS America ..... terminata la terza fase di prove in mare degli F-35B dei Marines .....


PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 14, 2016)
Ordnance is prepared for an F-35B Lightning II short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft on the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6).
This event marked the first live ordnance uploaded to the F-35B at sea.
During the third and final F-35B developmental test phase (DT-III), the aircraft is undergoing envelope expansion via a series of launches and recoveries in various operating conditions such as high sea states and high winds.
(U.S. Navy Photo/Released)

The F-35B Lightning II third developmental test phase (DT-III) aboard amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) reached a new milestone as the program completed weapons load testing Nov. 16.
The Patuxent River Integrated Test Force (ITF) assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 embarked America Oct. 28 with an aggressive test plan featuring a broad array of milestones, which included shipboard launch and recovery expansion test points focused on the evaluation of flying qualities at various aircraft weights, in particular in regard to crosswinds, sink rates, and high sea states.
Additionally, the DT-III weapons team evaluated ordnance separation tests and live-fire tests.
"We're here to augment the existing weight center of gravity effects of the aircraft to expand the fleet envelope wind over deck, and different lateral symmetry and asymmetry configurations," said Gabriella Spehn, a F-35 weapons engineer from the Pax River ITF.

Fonte ..... "F-35B Weapons Load Testing Wraps up on USS America during DT-III" .....
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LRIP 10 .....

Dalla pagina Contracts (Navy) del DoD del 23 Novembre ...

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $7,189,297,142 undefinitized not-to-exceed modification to the previously awarded low-rate initial production Lot 10 F-35 Lightning II advance acquisition contract (N00019-15-C-0003).
This modification provides for the procurement of 90 aircraft, comprised of 76 F-35A aircraft for the Air Force (44), non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) participants (16), and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers (16); 12 F-35B aircraft for the Marine Corps (9), and non-U.S. DoD participants (3); and two F-35C aircraft for the Navy.
In addition, this modification provides for diminishing manufacturing and material shortages redesign and management; non-recurring engineering, changes to correct deficiencies resulting from concurrency between systems development and demonstration and production; and unique requirements for non-U.S. participants and FMS customers.
Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (30 percent); El Segundo, California (25 percent); Warton, United Kingdom (20 percent); Orlando, Florida (10 percent); Nashua, New Hampshire (5 percent); Nagoya, Japan (5 percent); and Baltimore, Maryland (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2020.
Fiscal 2016 aircraft procurement (Navy/Marine Corps and Air Force); and non-U.S. DoD participant and FMS funding in the amount of $1,280,306,832 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
This contract combines purchases for the Air Force ($3,397,703,267; 47.3%); Navy ($1,005,133,523; 13.9%); non-DoD participants ($1,507,557,938; 21.0%); and FMS customers ($1,278,902,414; 17.8%).
The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

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Aggiornamenti in vista per gli F-35 attualmente impiegati nel programma di sviluppo .....

The Lockheed Martin F-35 hasn’t flown a combat mission yet, but its taxed developmental aircraft need a service life extension.
The Joint Strike Fighter programme intends to award F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin a sole source contract in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017, according to a September announcement posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website.
Under the SLEP contract, Lockheed will examine the aircraft’s airframe, hardware, software and structure, the Joint Programme Office tells FlightGlobal.
The contract, which applies to US and international partners, will also bring the test fleet’s hardware configuration to parity with the new fleet.

Fonte ..... "Developmental test F-35s need service life extension" .....
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LRIP 10 ..... secondo RID nel contratto testé assegnato sarebbero compresi due F-35 destinati all' Italia .....

Si tratta del lotto di produzione a basso rateo n.10 (LRIP 10) che include 76 F-35A, 12 F-35B e 2 F-35C, di cui 1 F-35A ed 1 F-35B per l'Italia.

..... "Contratto provvisorio per altri 90 F-35" .....
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F-35 contro F-16 ..... presso la Luke AFB ha preso il via l' addestramento integrato .....

In October, pilots of the 56th Fighter Wing began flying integrated direct support practice sorties in the F-35 Lightning II and the F-16 Fighting Falcon for the first time as a regular component of the training curriculum at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.



The integrated training comes as part of the next step in the development of F-35 training and tactics, and helps pilots become efficient in conducting futuristic mission sets and aerial combat scenarios involving both fourth and fifth-generation fighter jets.
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The integrated training accomplishes two major training goals, first in exposing F-35 pilots to air-to-air combat scenarios against fourth-generation aircraft capable of mimicking adversaries that pilots would realistically face on today’s battlefields, and second in providing F-35 and F-16 pilots with experience in carrying out joint strike missions.

Fonte ..... "F-35 begins integrated training with F-16 at Luke" .....
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Prima consegna FMS ..... al Giappone .....

Japan has received its first Lockheed Martin F-35A, marking the first delivery of a Joint Strike Fighter acquired via the foreign military sale (FMS) route.
The aircraft was officially rolled out in September and was handed over to the Japan Air Self-Defence Force on 28 November.
Japan will use it for training at Luke AFB in Arizona.

Fonte ..... "PICTURES: Japan receives first F-35" .....
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E Israele ne ordina altri 17 .....

Avevo già postato questa notizia (da DefenseNews) nella discussione dedicata alla IAF ..... qui riporto quella appena pubblicata da FlightGlobal .....

"Israel approves purchase of 17 more F-35s" .....

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Joint Program Office (JPO) ..... non lo chiudono ..... almeno per ora .....

The compromise version of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act protects the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) from elimination, but requires the Pentagon to report on alternatives for the management of the joint strike fighter by the end of March.
The Senate Armed Services Committee's version of the NDAA, rolled out in May, included language that would disband the JPO after the F-35 reaches full-rate production in April 2019.
At that time, control of the plane would devolve to the Air Force and Navy, in essence ending joint control of the jet and turning it into another traditional program.
However, the House rejected that proposal in conference, and instead put in language requiring “the Secretary of Defense, no later than March 31, 2017, to submit to the congressional defense committees a report on potential options for the future management of the Joint Strike Fighter program.”

Fonte ..... "F-35 Joint Program Office Saved – for Now" .....
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