The Pentagon’s newly installed top weapons buyer told a Senate panel Thursday that she was “determined to reduce the cost” of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a price tag projected to top $1 trillion over its 60-year life span, making it the most expensive weapons system in the history of the Defense Department.
Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Ellen Lord, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said the Pentagon would work with the program’s prime contractors, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems, to “improve cost performance.”
She also addressed current acquisition programs, focusing on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The Pentagon is “determined to reduce the cost of production and sustainment,” she said, and “we have initiated an extensive JSF cost deep-dive led jointly by my office … and [the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office].”
This study will look at prime contractor Lockheed Martin, as well as all system subcontractors, to discern “what [the] JSF costs, why it costs what it costs, and most importantly, what we can do to improve cost performance at the prime contractor and up and down the supply chain.”
Lord said the findings of the F-35 study will “inform our product contract negotiations and all of our sustainment efforts on a go-forward basis.”
On Friday, December 15, Lockheed Martin delivered the 66th F-35 aircraft for the year, meeting the joint government and industry delivery target for 2017.
To date, more than 265 F-35 aircraft have been delivered to U.S. and international customers.
More than 530 pilots and nearly 5,000 maintainers have been trained, and the F-35 fleet has surpassed more than 115,000 cumulative flight hours.
Dopo tanti 'reports' non favorevoli di provenienza USA ..... eccone ora uno tutto britannico .....
After a short inquiry into the UK’s acquisition of Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters, a watchdog body of the British Parliament has issued a detailed and critical report.
The House of Commons Defence Committee (HCDC) said it was disappointed by the responses it obtained in written and oral testimony from Lockheed Martin and UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials.
The HCDC report was published just days before the 14th F-35B for the UK was delivered to MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, where the first operational British squadron is working up.
Dopo tanti 'reports' non favorevoli di provenienza USA ..... eccone ora uno tutto britannico .....
After a short inquiry into the UK’s acquisition of Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters, a watchdog body of the British Parliament has issued a detailed and critical report.
The House of Commons Defence Committee (HCDC) said it was disappointed by the responses it obtained in written and oral testimony from Lockheed Martin and UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials.
The HCDC report was published just days before the 14th F-35B for the UK was delivered to MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, where the first operational British squadron is working up.
At the outset of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, there were high expectations that it would benefit from lessons learned from its elder stablemate, the F-22 Raptor, also made by Lockheed Martin.
Now, a dozen years after the F-22’s operational debut and two years after the F-35 was declared ready for combat, the flow of lessons learned is running both ways.
The two fifth generation fighter programs are working together to reduce costs and make both systems more effective.
The F-22 has been a pathfinder for the F-35: its formations and methods of employment are a model for the junior fighter.
In return, the small F-22 fleet is gaining economy-of-scale benefits by getting in on parts buys with the far larger - and growing - F-35 fleet.
More advanced and hardier stealth features on the F-35 are working their way back to the F-22, the two aircraft share radar features, and operational and manufacturing experience with the F-35 are helping define upgrades for the Raptor.
Il Pentagono auspica che LM e l'Ufficio del programma F-35 adottino sin da ora, quindi con alcuni anni di anticipo, una 'mentalità' di produzione a pieno ritmo .....
The Pentagon wants Lockheed Martin and the F-35 program office to operate with the pace and mindset of full-rate production, even if the actual production line is years away from this milestone.
Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, speaking off camera with reporters right before the holiday break, said in his mind Lockheed and the program office need the “mindset and the behaviors, and how we’re leveraging productivity of a full-rate environment.”
Testers with the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the F-35 Integrated Test Force recently completed Weapons Delivery Accuracy flight tests on the Joint Strike Fighter, which first began in July 2013.
During the tests all three F-35 variants delivered AIM-120, AIM-9X, and the UK’s Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile.
Testers also confirmed air-to-ground delivery of the Paveway IV, GBU-39 small diameter bomb, the GBU-12, the Joint Direct Attack Munition, and the Joint Standoff Weapon.
“Weapons delivery accuracy tests are important, because without proof that the F-35 can actually drop these weapons where we need them to go, then the F-35 is just an information-gathering system,” said Lt. Col. Tucker Hamilton, 461st FLTS commander and F-35 ITF director.
“The F-35 proved it was extremely capable in delivering these weapons where we wanted it and how we wanted it delivered. These are the most complicated and intricate missions that we had and the jet did extremely well.”
The final tests on the F-35's GAU-22 25mm gun wrapped up in early December, following completion of air-to-air tests in August and air-to-ground tests in October, according to a USAF release (*).
Si amplia il numero delle basi che ospiteranno, in futuro, gli F-35A .....
L' Air Force ne ha appena scelto due appartenenti all' ANG .....
The Air Force has selected Truax Field Air National Guard Base, Wisconsin and Dannelly Field, Alabama as the preferred locations for the next two Air National Guard F-35A bases.
“Selecting Truax Field and Dannelly Field will increase Air National Guard F-35A units providing 5th Generation airpower around the world,” said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson.
“As F-35As arrive at these locations, we will use the existing aircraft at these fields to replace the aging F-16s at other Air National Guard units.”
Prossima consegna ufficiale alla Marina Militare del primo F-35B assemblato in Italia .....
Finalmente è terminata l'incertezza sulla sorte del primo F-35B italiano (BL-1).
Il velivolo andrà infatti alla Marina Militare alla quale sarà consegnato ufficialmente con una cerimonia che si terrà a Cameri il 25 gennaio e che vedrà la partecipazione anche del Capo di Stato Maggiore della Marina Amm. Walter Girardelli.
Secondo il Direttore di RID la cerimonia si svolgerà senza la presenza della stampa ..... confermando così il basso profilo che il Ministero della Difesa sta continuando a dare al programma nazionale ..... .
Si avvicina il momento del primo imbarco per gli F-35B dei Marines già dislocati in Giappone .....
The U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship Wasp has arrived at its new home port in Japan, setting the stage for the first time the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fighter jet will go to sea on an operational cruise later this year. ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
..... the Wasp will prepare for its own scheduled patrol later in the year with the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the F-35Bs of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, which relocated to Iwakuni, Japan, in early 2017.
The squadron is the first operational Marine Corps F-35B unit and currently has 16 aircraft at Iwakuni.
Dalla pagina dei contratti del DoD del 17 Gennaio 2018 .....
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded $7,476,086 for modification P00004 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed fee contract (N00019-15-C-0105) to transition the F-35 Australia, Canada, United Kingdom Reprogramming Laboratory (ACURL) system from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas, to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
Support includes required activities including packing, shipping, installation, integration, and testing.
This modification also provides for initial spares for the ACURL.
Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Eglin, Florida (70 percent); and Fort Worth, Texas (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2019.
International partner funds in the amount of $7,476,086 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Nei giorni scorsi era circolata la notizia relativa ad una fantomatica, futura produzione di F-35 in India .....
Orbène ..... si trattava di una bufala .....
Rumors of an F-35 production line in India have been greatly exaggerated.
Over the weekend, multiple news outlets ran stories based on a Press Trust of India report stating that Lockheed Martin had proposed to manufacture a “custom-built F-35” in India.
However, it appears that the story was the result of confusion between discussion on the F-35 and the company’s well-publicized bid to move its F-16 line to India.
Lockheed has no intention of building an F-35 line in India at this time.
“F-35 production is based [in] Fort Worth, Texas, and Final Assembly and Checkout Operations (FACO) facilities are located in Cameri, Italy, and Nagoya, Japan. The article referencing F-35 production in India was misreported and incorrect. The conversation was in regards to F-16 production,” Lockheed spokesman Michael Friedman said Monday.
A top Indian Ministry of Defence official told Defense News that “there is no such plan, and no official proposal has come from U.S. government and Lockheed Martin” to produce F-35s in India in the future.
E' destinato alla base di Misawa il primo F-35A assemblato in Giappone .....
The first F-35A stealth fighter jet for the Air Self-Defense Force is set to be deployed to the Misawa base in Aomori Prefecture on Friday, Defense Ministry officials said Monday.
The ASDF will procure a total of 42 F-35A aircraft, its next-generation mainstay fighter.
It plans to form the first F-35A squadron by deploying nine more aircraft to the northeastern base by the end of March next year. ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
The fighter to be deployed to the Misawa base soon was assembled at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. group’s plant in Toyoyama, Aichi Prefecture, and so will be 37 others.
The remaining four aircraft will come from the United States.
Consegnato ufficialmente alla Marina Militare il primo F-35B assemblato nella FACO di Cameri .....
È stato consegnato questa mattina al Ministero della Difesa il primo F-35B STOVL (Short Take-Off/Vertical Landing) Lightning II assemblato al di fuori degli Stati Uniti.
Il velivolo, destinato ad equipaggiare la Marina Militare, è stato interamente realizzato nello stabilimento FACO (Final Assembly and Check Out) di Cameri.
Alla cerimonia sono intervenuti, tra gli altri, il Capo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa, Generale Claudio Graziano, l’Ammiraglio Valter Girardelli, Capo di Stato Maggiore della Marina Militare, il Generale Francesco Langella, Direttore della Direzione degli Armamenti Aeronautici (ARMAEREO), Filippo Bagnato, Aircraft Division Managing Director di Leonardo e Douglas Wilhelm, Vice President F35 customer programs di Lockheed Martin.
Veloci più di Speedy Gonzales .....
Appena consegnato e ..... subito spedito negli USA .....
Il primo F35B assemblato fuori dagli Stati Uniti è atterrato oggi nella base NAS di Patuxent River, dopo aver completato la traversata dell’Atlantico partendo dalla Base Aerea di Cameri.
Il velivolo era stato consegnato alla Marina Militare italiana nel corso di una cerimonia svolta lo scorso 25 gennaio nello stabilimento FACO (Final Assembly and Check Out) di Cameri.
L’F-35B è stato trasferito da un pilota italiano alla Naval Air Station di Patuxent River, nel Maryland (Usa), dove sarà sottoposto ai test di certificazione di compatibilità elettromagnetica, presso il centro di prova Battlespace Simulation.
E, a volte, succede che accada qualcosa in anticipo sul previsto .....
The F-35 Joint Program Office announced it will implement anti-ground collision software into the fleet five years earlier than planned.
Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS) software, which was developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, was first installed in F-16s in 2014, according to a program office release.
Since then, “seven pilots and six F-16 aircraft” have reportedly been saved by the system, causing the JPO to place “a premium” on speedy implementation.
“Expediting this lifesaving technology into the F-35 fleet by 2019 is estimated to prevent the loss of three aircraft, and more importantly, save the lives of three pilots,” F-35 Program Executive Vice Adm. Mat Winter said in a news release.
“Over the service life of the F-35 fleet, having Auto-GCAS is estimated to prevent more than 26 ground collisions from happening.”
US government officials have delivered the first formal response to Lockheed Martin’s 14-month-old pricing proposal for more than 100 F-35s ordered under the 11th annual lot of low-rate initial production (LRIP 11), says Lockheed chief financial officer Bruce Tanner.
The step revives pricing negotiations on LRIP 11 between Lockheed and the joint programme office a year after long-delayed contracts for lots 9 and 10 were finalised after the personal intervention of US president Donald Trump.
Norway has completed the first in-country test of a braking parachute on a Lockheed Martin F-35A, with the trial taking place on 16 February at Ørland air base.
"Our combat aircraft must be able to land during extreme Norwegian winter conditions, and Norway, with experience in this, will help develop and test the F-35 braking parachute," says Norway's F-35 programme director, Gen Morten Klever.
Il generale Mike Holmes, comandante dello Air Combat Command, afferma che sarà difficile riuscire a portare tutti gli F-35A dell' USAF ad un unico standard ..... troppo costoso ..... ed è pertanto assai probabile che molti di quelli già consegnati non vengano sottoposti al processo di aggiornamento .....
..... fighter modernization has to compete with nuclear modernization, ISR, space, and remotely piloted aircraft, among other needs, and after doing those calculations, “that number comes out [at] about 48 [F-35s] a year.”
..... there are “tradeoffs” between buying new jets now versus waiting for improved blocks of F-35s, because earlier models would have to be retrofitted to a more desirable standard, at a potentially unaffordable cost.
“We look forward to getting that increased capability” in later iterations ..... but it hasn’t been determined “what capabilities do you need to buy back to make those [earlier] airplanes useful against the peer competitor” and what it would take to “make them useful again.”
Asked if the jets that are now used to train aviators learning to fly the F-35 would be brought up to combat standard or left in an earlier configuration - as F-22 training aircraft are - Holmes said “I think it’s unlikely that all the jets will ever be brought up to a common, single standard.”
ALIS 3.0 i tests sono stati completati ..... ma il sistema è ancora suscettibile di ulteriori migliorie .....
The F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Integration System, or ALIS, completed operational testing on Feb. 19 and fielded units will be updated with this version on a priority basis, based on which units have the most pressing need, Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager for Training and Logistics Solutions Amy Gowder told reporters Feb. 21.
Speaking at the unit’s Orlando, Fla., facility, Gowder confirmed that ALIS 3.0 had completed “flight testing” at Nellis AFB, Nev., although this is an in-house company term and the system does not actually fly. ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Despite it being the most up-to-date version of the logistics system, Gowder said Lockheed recognizes it must improve ALIS 3.0, as one of the major elements in its sustainment cost reduction efforts.
Una serie di articoli che riferiscono delle critiche espresse dal capo del JPO nei confronti di LM sulla gestione del lavoro e dei costi nell' ambito del programma e sulla lentezza delle trattative riguardanti il Lotto 11 .....
A detachment of F-35B Lightning II's with Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) arrived aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) March 5, marking the first time the aircraft has deployed aboard a U.S. Navy ship and with a Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Indo-Pacific.
The F-35B, assigned under the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, will provide a robust set of sea-based capabilities that will enhance Navy-Marine Corps expeditionary operations.
The aircraft is equally capable of conducting precision strikes inland, supporting Marines inserted ashore or providing air defense for the Expeditionary Strike Group.
ALIS ..... non riesce ancora ..... a mettere le ali .....
At the same time, the Air Force is still facing issues with the F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Integration System – a series of servers that gather flight information of F-35s and automatically orders parts and maintenance actions.
The Air Force knew at the outset of the program that ALIS would have shortfalls and would need to be upgraded, but these upgrades are proving to be “longer and more manpower intense” than expected, Harris said.
The Air Force is in the middle of an in-depth study of ALIS and its shortfalls, which should be completed by the end of the year, he said.
Stanno emergendo nuovi problemi ..... questa volta riguardano la scarsità di parti di ricambio che incide sul programma di addestramento .....
The pilots at the U.S. Air Force’s two F-35 training hubs are now feeling the impact of a major problem that is emerging across the enterprise: a severe shortage of spare parts and limited capacity to repair those that are broken, leading to low readiness levels across the fleet.
And as the Air Force battles another critical shortage - the pilots themselves - the training bases are arguably facing the most urgent challenge.
At the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, the Air Force’s other F-35 training unit, maintainers are constantly battling for parts.
At Eglin, the backlog is so severe that it is threatening to delay graduating pilots, said Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida during a March 7 hearing of the House Armed Services tactical air and land subcommittee.
La notizia circolava già da qualche tempo ..... ma ora viene ripresa da una fonte attendibile e, se rispondesse effettivamente al vero, starebbe a significare che il Lightning II ha ricevuto il battesimo del fuoco .....
Israel’s Lockheed Martin F-35I "Adir" is reported to have made its combat debut during strikes conducted against Syrian air defence systems last month.
The action was mounted following a border clash that culminated in an Israeli air force Lockheed F-16 being shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
The F-35I's suggested offensive debut has not been confirmed officially, with Israeli air force commander Maj Gen Amikam Norkin having classified all operations with the type.
F-35C ..... ulteriori passi avanti in direzione della IOC .....
The US has completed carrier qualifications for the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II aboard the Nimitz-class USS Abraham Lincoln on the Atlantic Ocean from 17 March to 21 March.
Two squadrons -- VFA-125 and VFA-101 -- accomplished day and night qualifications with 140 "traps", each denoting a successful landing on the carrier deck.
The milestone clears the F-35C to begin operational testing on the carrier later this year, which will determine if the US Navy can obtain their initial operational capability target for the aircraft in fiscal year 2019.
I sogni son desideri ..... o ..... i desideri sono sogni .....
The Air Force is not backing off from its requirement of 1,763 F-35As, but it wants the jet to be no more costly to operate than the F-16 it’s replacing, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said Thursday.
Meeting with defense reporters in Washington, D.C., Goldfein acknowledged that F-35 support costs are much higher than the service expected or can afford in the long term - noting that the various user countries and services are “all very concerned about sustainment” - but he said it’s premature to start thinking about cutting the buy.
F-35s to Make First Latin America Appearance This Week .....
The F-35 fighter will be on display for the first time in Latin America this week at the International Air and Space Fair, FIDAE 2018, April 3-8 in Santiago, Chile, according to the US Embassy there (*).
In addition, the Air Force F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team will demonstrate maneuvers.
Also present will be a B-52 bomber, a C-130 Hercules, a C-17 transport, and KC-10 and KC-135 refueling aircraft.
The US presentations will also include one by the Wings of Blue parachute team from the Air Force Academy and an Air Force medical team, which will display a portable and air-transportable intensive care medical unit, part of which will be used by Chile’s air force as it prepares for a joint disaster-relief training exercise set for next year.
The U.S. Navy’s USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier will be headed to sea loaded with war-ready F-35Cs for the first time in 2021, if all goes according to plan.
But the F-35C carrier variant has a long road ahead before it can kick off its first operational deployment.
The Navy version of Lockheed Martin’s new fighter has made major progress over the last year.
The “Rough Raiders” of VFA-125, the “Grim Reapers” of VFA-101 as well as VX-9 recently completed carrier qualifications on the USS Abraham Lincoln, greenlighting the first nine F-35C pilots to take off and land.
At NAS Lemoore, California, the “Argonauts” of VFA-147, which will support the 2021 deployment, in February began their transition to the F-35C.
![[smilie=to funny.gif]](./images/smilies/To%20funny.gif "To funny")
