JSF

[richelieu]

A proposito delle migliorie che potrebbero essere apportate al motore ..... ulteriori informazioni da un articolo scritto a sei mani apparso sul sito di AW&ST .....

Directed-Energy Capability Targeted By Pratt F-35 Engine Upgrade Plan .....

Guy Norris, Joe Anselmo and Michael Bruno - AW&ST - June 15, 2018



Pratt & Whitney is refining its proposed upgrade path for the F135 Joint Strike Fighter engine to include increased power and thermal management (PTMS) capability following feedback on its initially proposed upgrade package from the F-35 Joint Program Office.
Additional power and thermal management capability will enable the use of directed-energy weapons and other advanced offensive and defensive systems and, if approved, would feature in an upgrade package called Growth Option 2.0 (GO2).
Pratt & Whitney, which would roll PTMS into a suite of compressor and turbine enhancements originally proposed in the first upgrade package, G01, says the complete upgrade could be available within four years of getting the official go-ahead.
Growth Option 1.0, which was floated with the JPO in 2017, offered 5% fuel reductions and as much as 10% higher thrust.
Offered as a cost neutral upgrade, it was always meant to form part of a longer term, two-stage improvement road map for the F-35 engine under plans first unveiled by the manufacturer in 2015.
However, with the move to combine GO1 and 2 into a more complete enhancement package, Pratt is tailoring the revised proposal to closer match the F-35 upgrade road map recently outlined under the C2D2 continuous improvement strategy.
GO1 builds on core technologies evaluated from 2013 onward using the modified F135 test engine XTE68/LF under the U.S. Navy-sponsored Fuel Burn Reduction (FBR) program.
It also incorporates design improvements developed under the U.S. Air Force-supported component and engine structural assessment research (Caesar), which focused on the F119 engine for the F-22, the predecessor of the F135 powerplant.
Though focused on integrating enhanced thermal management, GO2 will leverage more of the adaptive engine technology features in development at Pratt through Air Force and -Navy-supported initiatives.
These largely stem from the Air Force-led Adaptive Engine Technology Demonstration (AETD), as well as the follow-on adaptive engine transfer program (AETP), which is targeting development of the XA101 variable cycle engine for sixth-generation fighters.
The chief focus for these new AETD, AETP and XA101 engine cycles is the addition of a third air stream to provide either greater combat power or more range, depending on the phase of the mission.
However, the “GO” upgrade packages can take advantage of the broader variable-cycle approach, says Matthew Bromberg, president of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines.
“Adaptive refers to many other elements of the engine as well, not just the third stream. Yes, there is a third stream, but we are also looking at adaptive elements in controls and components inside the engine such as an adaptive turbine.”
“We have widened the aperture and are looking at adaptive elements across the engine,” he adds.
“As these mature we will look at what we can do with the technology in an existing engine ,and that’s the concept in GO1. And GO2 is exactly the same thing. It just adds the PTMS capability which we missed last year. We didn’t have that in terms of the requirements when we packaged GO1, and that was the feedback we got from the customer. With a PTMS solution this can meet all the C2/D2 requirements, and I think that’s compelling.”
Designed to be a drop-in replacement for the current engine, the GO2 package will not require other system upgrades outside of the propulsion system.
“There’s more we can do with Lockheed Martin and other suppliers if we go outside the engine, but this is all within the engine,” says Bromberg.
Although providing few specifics he adds, “It is leveraging all the bleed systems, the generation systems.”
Pratt, meanwhile, continues tests of the new technology future fighter engine core, which will provide the basis for the XA101.
Although the company declines to offer any details of the work, it follows the successful completion of tests of a three-stream fan system on a modified F135 under the AETD program.
Results from the core tests will feed into the AETP effort that forms the basis for the XA101 engine.

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[richelieu]

Imminente consegna del primo F-35A alla Turchia ..... aumentano le pressioni della classe politica USA sul governo per impedire che ciò avvenga .....
Dal sito dell' AFA (06/18/2018) .....

Lawmakers Urge Mattis to Block F-35 Sales to Turkey .....

A group of 44 lawmakers are urging Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to block the sale of F-35s to Turkey, following Turkish actions in Syria and its plan to buy Russian-made air defenses.
“Contrary to its NATO obligations and the expectations that should govern a responsible ally, Turkey is actively operating to undermine US interests around the world,” the bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote in a Thursday letter to Mattis.
“Turkey’s repeated military actions against American interests, relentless degradation of human rights and democracy under President Erdogan, and clear intention to build a strategic partnership with Russia have completely eroded the US-Turkey relationship.”
Turkey is set to receive its first F-35A on June 21, however, the lawmakers write that they have “no confidence” the country will use the aircraft “responsibly” in the region, based on Turkey’s history targeting US-backed Kurdish YPG forces inside Syria and Kurdish Peshmerga inside Iraq.
“It is hard to imagine a more compelling case for re-evaluating the delivery of US military technology to a foreign state,” the letter states.
“We must hold Turkey accountable for conduct that threatens US national security, undermines the interests of our partners and allies, and represents a broadside attack against fundamental democratic values.”

Il testo della lettera ..... https://sarbanes.house.gov/sites/sarban ... SIGNED.pdf .....
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[richelieu]

In fase avanzata negli Stati Uniti i collaudi del Joint Strike Missile norvegese in vista della sua integrazione sul Lightning II .....
Dal sito dell' AFA (06/18/2018) .....

US-Norwegian Team Completes Major Segment of Joint Strike Missile Testing .....

A joint US-Norwegian team has completed “a large phase” of testing for the Joint Strike Missile, the advanced anti-surface warfare missile designed for the Norwegian Armed Force’s F-35A, the US Air Force said Friday (*).
The 416th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB, Calif., led the testing of the missile with Norwegian government and industry personnel.
In Friday’s announcement, the service said that before moving to integration testing on the F-35A, the missile was tested on F-16s, “a much more proven and mature platform in terms of technology development,” according to Collin Drake, 416th FLTS JSM project engineer.
Drake said that with the F-35 still in development, it is more efficient and effective to use F-16s for mid-cycle tests.
Testing included different versions of the missile, with increasing levels of complexity and capability, and all versions were inert until the final flight test events, during which the missile hit a target with full mission systems software and guidance.
Live releases of the missile were conducted at the Utah Test and Training Range.

- Steve Hirsch

(*) ..... af.mil ..... "Edwards AFB squadron completes Joint Strike Missile test program" .....
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[richelieu]

Operazione 'Lightning' ..... primo rischieramento in forze su una base del Nord Italia ..... con qualche puntatina all' estero .....

Il maltempo nei cieli austriaci e tedeschi non ha fermato l’operazione “Lightning” che ha visto quattro velivoli F-35A del 13° Gruppo Volo, in forza al 32° Stormo di Amendola (FG), operare per una settimana dall’aeroporto di Rivolto (UD), sede del 2° Stormo.
Atterrati nella base friulana nel primo pomeriggio di venerdì 8 giugno, i velivoli di quinta generazione dell’Aeronautica Militare hanno potuto effettuare l’attività pianificata grazie anche al supporto del personale del 2° Stormo e di un “Advance Team” arrivato da Amendola per la gestione diretta delle aree aeroportuali dedicate al rischieramento.
L’attività addestrativa ha visto i piloti del 13° Gruppo rischierarsi per la prima volta su una base operativa italiana per esercitarsi ... al poligono elettronico “Polygone” di Bann, in Germania ...

Fonte: aeronautica.difesa.it ..... "AL 2° STORMO IL PRIMO RISCHIERAMENTO DI UN F-35A SU UNA BASE OPERATIVA ITALIANA" .....

Tovrebbe essere la prima folta che i Teteschi fedono dal fero gli F-35 folare sul loro territorio .....
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[richelieu]

Nonostante tutto .....

Secondo il quotidiano turco Hürriyet .....

A highly anticipated ceremony for the delivery of Turkey’s first two F-35 fighter jets from the United States will take place at the defense contractor Lockheed Martin’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas on June 21, despite successive attempts by the U.S. Congress to block the supply of the new generation fighters to its NATO ally.
Lockheed Martin will conduct a rollout ceremony in Fort Worth and the jets will move on to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona where Turkish F-35 pilots and technicians will receive training, Pentagon spokesman Mike Andrew said.
He declined to comment on the bill passed by Congress to block the delivery of the jets, saying “Turkey is one of the key members of NATO and a participant of the F-35 development project.”

..... "Turkey’s first F-35 officially to be delivered in ceremony June 21 despite Senate opposition" .....
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[richelieu]

Turchia ..... la consegna, alla fine, è avvenuta ..... alla faccia dei veti del Congresso .....

Lockheed Martin officially presented the first F-35A fighters to Turkey in a 21 June rollout ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas.
Turkey is not expected to receive the stealth fighter into its own airspace until 2020, though the country’s pilots will begin training on the new aircraft at Luke AFB, Arizona at the end of the month.
Turkish aircraft maintainers have already begun their training at Eglin AFB, Florida.
The formal roll-out ceremony for the Turkish F-35 comes just days after the US Senate and members of the House of Representatives moved to block the delivery of the aircraft to Turkey.

Fonte: flightglobal.com ..... "Lockheed presents F-35 to Turkey amid US lawmaker opposition" .....

Intanto ..... la Russia si lascia andare a facile ironia .....

..... it.sputniknews.com ..... "In bocca al lupo, F-35 !" .....
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[richelieu]

USMC ..... meno uno .....

An F-35B that erupted into flames after a faulty bracket issue nearly two years ago has been struck by the Marine Corps, making it the first loss of an F-35 for the Corps.
The Corps made the determination that the costs to repair the costly high-tech fighter would not be worth the return on investment.

Fonte: marinecorpstimes.com ..... "The Marine Corps has lost its first F-35" .....
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[richelieu]

Sull' ultimo numero (Luglio) del mensile britannico 'AIR International', appena uscito, è stato pubblicato un articolo, a firma Riccardo Niccoli, dedicato agli F-35 italiani .....




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[richelieu]

Il Direttore di RID comunica di aver visitato la base di Amendola e che ne riferirà in dettaglio sul numero di Agosto della rivista .....

..... "Amendola: gli F-35 in attività" .....

Questa notizia, insieme a quella riportata nel post precedente, dimostra che l'Aeronautica Militare ha finalmente deciso di imboccare la strada della 'trasparenza' .....
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[richelieu]

S400 ..... un vicino della cui presenza si farebbe volentieri a meno .....

Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mike Holmes said it's inevitable that F-35s will be stationed close to facilities operating the Russian S400 air defense system, and deciding when and where F-35 deployments will happen is still a work in progress.
The next permanent F-35 operating location will be Alaska, then Europe, he said.
Turkey wants to buy the S400 system and is also buying F-35s.
Holmes said he ideally would like to "avoid" having the F-35 in close proximity to the Russian system, which ​he described as having longer range and greater "sensitivity of the sensors" versus the S300 system.
Though he said the USAF and the Army will be working together to "defeat" the S400, he declined to say specifically what role the Army can play.

Fonte: airforcemag.com ..... "F-35 An Uneasy Neighbor With S400" .....
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[Valerio Ricciardi]

Ho capito bene? La Turchia di Erdogan che sta progressivamente avvicinandosi a stringere rapporti sempre più collaborativi con Putin e gli - per gli USA e Israele, che lo hanno imposto al mondo - ayatollah iraniani avrà gli F35 laddove vorrebbe dotarsi del sistema S400?

Ah beh, direi che Putin stasera berrà più vodka del solito "cicchetto" dopo cena...

[richelieu]

Si ..... hai proprio capito bene ..... e c'é di più .....

Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu says in a TV interview that US president Donald Trump personally promised to ensure the delivery of the Lockheed Martin F-35A to his country.
Opposition from the US Senate, House of Representatives and State Department to the delivery of the F-35A to Turkey is putting the final delivery of the stealth fighter at risk.
Lawmakers and government officials complain that Turkey’s decision to purchase the Russian-made Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft system, alleged human rights abuses and military decisions by the country’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan put the Middle Eastern nation out of line with US interests.
But, Trump told Turkey’s government that he would take the steps necessary to make sure the NATO ally received the aircraft it ordered from Lockheed Martin, according to the country’s foreign minister in an interview with Turkish television station NTV on 29 June.
The National Security Council confirmed that the US president spoke with Erdoğan, but declined to confirm or deny that the F-35 was part of the conversation.

Fonte: flightglobal.com ..... "Trump guarantees F-35 deliveries to Ankara, says Turkish minister" .....

Ovvero ..... tanto tuonò ..... che NON piovve .....

[richelieu]

Nella mitica 'Plant 42', culla di innumerevoli programmi 'neri', Northrop Grumman lavora alacremente alla produzione dei tronconi centrali di fusoliera degli F-35 .....

Northrop Grumman entered full-rate production on the F-35 Lightning II’s centre fuselage at its Palmdale, California facility in May in order to meet increasing order quantities from the Pentagon and international customers.
The company said the 400th centre fuselage was completed and delivered to F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin last month.
Production of the 500th centre fuselage began the week of 18 June.
Situated on the edge of the Mojave Desert in California, the factory -- known as Building 401 on Site 4 of Plant 42 -- supplies fuselages for aircraft final assembly facilities in Fort Worth, Texas; Italy and Japan.
An adjacent bay in the same building once was the final assembly site of the B-2A bomber.
It sat empty during a media tour of the full facility in December 2015.
During the latest tour of Building 401 in mid-June, Northrop officials refused to discuss the secret location of the B-21A bomber assembly site, but the former B-2A bay was walled off and not accessible.

Fonte: flightglobal.com ..... "Northrop Grumman enters full-rate production on F-35 fuselage" .....
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[richelieu]

Pericolo scampato ?

Italy’s new populist government may slow down but not reduce its order of F-35 fighter jets ..... Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta (*) has told Defense News.
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Five Star officials promised last year to scrap Italy’s purchase of 90 F-35 fighters, but Trenta said the new government would not cut orders, even if it might stretch out its purchase plan.
“It’s a program we inherited and we have lots of questions; that is why we will evaluate the program considering the industrial and technology benefits for national interest, as we are the new government,” she said.
“What I would like to do is lighten the load since we have other spending commitments in Europe. We will try to stretch out deliveries instead of cutting the order, which would reduce offsets and mean penalties,” she said.

Fonte: defensenews.com ..... "Italy’s new defense minister commits to F-35, butts heads with France" .....

(*) ..... https://www.borderline24.com/2018/06/01 ... -lumanita/ .....
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[Valerio Ricciardi]

Il problema sono le penalità. Perché io l'F35 lo comprerei solo dopo che fosse stato "messo a punto" e riveduto e corretto nel SW e nei sistemi d'arma dagli israeliani.
Allora si. Non si potrebbero prendere da loro degli usati garantiti, eh?

[richelieu]

Il problema sono le penalità.
Perché io l'F35 lo comprerei solo dopo che fosse stato "messo a punto" e riveduto e corretto nel SW e nei sistemi d'arma dagli israeliani.
Allora si.
Non si potrebbero prendere da loro degli usati garantiti, eh?

Il fatto stesso che gli acquisti verranno diluiti nel tempo sta a significare che i futuri velivoli saranno più maturi di quelli che abbiamo già ricevuti.
Quanto agli Israeliani ..... dubito fortemente siano disposti a condividere la loro particolare versione con altri paesi ..... considerando anche che hanno affermato che non desiderano inviare i loro aerei all' estero neanche per le revisioni .....

[richelieu]

In lizza anche a Singapore .....

..... ainonline.com ..... "Singapore Discusses a Future Fighter" .....

[richelieu]

Tre F-35B nel cielo di Londra .....

..... flightglobal.com ..... "London flypast marks RAF's centenary" .....

[richelieu]

Dove si parla di ... collaborazione ...

The United Kingdom’s new F-35B strike fighters were on full display over the last week as the Royal Air Force celebrated its centennial.
Three of the four F-35s, which were delivered one month ago, flew over London as part of the Royal Air Force's 100th anniversary flypast.
Three days later, one of the strike fighters put on an impressive performance at the Royal International Air Tattoo, hovering over the center of the flightline at RAF Fairford, England, demonstrating its vertical takeoff and landing capabilities.
“The F-35 is an enormous force multiplier. The UK just received their first four F-35Bs [in June] and miraculously they got three of the four aircraft airborne” for the anniversary flyover, one more than originally planned, said US Air Forces in Europe boss Gen. Tod Wolters.

Fonte: airforcemag.com ... "USAF, RAF Look to Keep Communication Lines Open as They Bring on F-35s" ...

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[richelieu]

Raggiunto l' accordo fra Pentagono e LM sul 'lotto 11' ... mentre continua la costante riduzione del prezzo dei singoli velivoli ...

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have reached a handshake deal for the eleventh batch of F-35 joint strike fighters, the Pentagon’s top acquisistion official confirmed July 15.
The lot 11 order will be the largest so far for the F-35 program, purchasing 141 jets for U.S. and international customers.
"The JPO and Lockheed Martin have made progress and are in the final stages of negotiation on the Lot 11 production contract,” said Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, in a statement.
“We have a handshake agreement which symbolizes the Department of Defense’s commitment to not only equip our warfighters with the world’s greatest fifth generation aircraft, but it also represents great value to the U.S. taxpayers, our allies and international partners. With each production lot, the F-35 unit recurring flyaway costs continue to come down across the board.”

Fonte: defensenews.com ... "Pentagon reaches handshake deal with Lockheed on newest batch of F-35s" ...

Reuters ... "Exclusive - Lockheed F-35 jet price falls 6 percent to below $90 million: sources" ...
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[richelieu]

RIAT 2018 ..... un Lightning II dell' USAF fa scintille .....

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[richelieu]

RIAT 2018 .....

Un F-35B del 617 Squadron della RAF dimostra le sue capacità STOVL .....

phpBB [video]

[richelieu]

Si, d' accordo ..... però .....

In a letter sent to US Representative Mac Thornberry, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis acknowledged concerns about the Turkish government, while opposing US lawmakers’ efforts to remove the country from the F-35 Lightning II programme, saying the loss of the nation from the supply chain would delay delivery of some aircraft for up to two years.
The top objection from lawmakers to Turkey receiving the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter is the nation’s agreement with Russia to buy the Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf system.
That surface-to-air missile system is considered one of the most advanced on the export market and is advertised by Rosoboronexport as having an "anti-stealth range" of up to 81nm (150km).

Fonte: flightglobal.com ..... "DOD opposes removing Turkey from F-35 programme, citing supply chain disruption" .....

Anche qui ..... https://www.bloombergquint.com/business ... gs.g_KWA5E .....
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[richelieu]

Lockheed Martin displayed a model of an F-35 on the White House lawn as part of a showcase of "Made in America" products on Monday.
President Trump hosted Lockheed CEO Marilyn Hewson and F-35 test pilot Alan Norman for the event .....

Nonostante le passate polemiche ..... glielo hanno messo proprio sotto il naso ..... anche se si trattava soltanto di un mock-up in grandezza naturale .....

Checking out a speedboat, a fighter jet and a giant industrial magnet parked on the White House driveway, President Donald Trump showcased an array of "Made in America" products Monday as his administration pushes back aggressively against critics who say his punishing tariffs on imported goods threaten to harm the U.S. economy.
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On the South Lawn, the president walked among a number of products manufactured across the nation, including a Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft from Maryland, a Ford F-150 pickup truck from Michigan, a Newmar recreational vehicle from Indiana and a Ranger speedboat from Arkansas.

Fonte: wbal.com ..... "Trump reviews 'Made in America' products at the White House" .....

Da un comunicato di Lockheed Martin in cui si annunciano nuove assunzioni di personale .....

Lockheed Martin announced today that it has hired more than 1,800 new employees in support of the F-35 program, meeting a commitment made in January 2017 by Chairman, President and CEO Marillyn Hewson.
The company also announced that it plans to create an additional 400 jobs at its Fort Worth, Texas, facility to support increased production on the program.
The announcement was made in conjunction with the Trump Administration's second Made in America day, which showcased a full-scale F-35 model on the South Lawn of the White House.

..... "LOCKHEED MARTIN MEETS 1,800 EMPLOYEE HIRING COMMITMENT; PLANS TO ADD 400 MORE JOBS IN FORT WORTH" .....
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[richelieu]

Di fronte alla 'tolleranza' del SecDef Mattis ..... il Congresso fa la sua contromossa .....

Two weeks after Defense Secretary James Mattis discouraged US lawmakers from blocking the transfer of Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters to Turkey, the House Armed Services Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee jointly released details of a compromise National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill that would do just that.
The annual authorisation bill that sets US defence policy would block the transfer of the F-3A5 unless Defense secretary Jim Mattis submits to Congress a report on the status of the US relationship with Turkey within 90 days of enactment.
The report is to include an assessment of the presence of US diplomatic and military activities within the country, and an assessment of the impact of the potential purchase by Turkey of the Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system.

Fonte: flightglobal.com ..... "Congress moves to put 90-day hold on F-35 transfers to Turkey" .....
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[richelieu]

Secondo Lockheed Martin .....

The stealthy F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter won’t be overly exposed to cost pressures if international customer Turkey is barred by Congress from taking ownership of its aircraft, Lockheed Martin’s senior leadership said while discussing second quarter financial results with Wall Street analysts during a Tuesday conference call.

Fonte: news.usni.org ..... "Lockheed Martin: F-35 Production on Track Even as Congress Mulls Barring Turkey’s Participation" .....
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[richelieu]

Il primo volo di un pilota Sudcoreano su un F-35A è stato annunciato dall' USAF .....

..... af.mil ..... "South Korean Air Force F-35A pilot takes first flight" .....

[mcgyver79]

..... af.mil ..... "South Korean Air Force F-35A pilot takes first flight" .....

Pilota che ha dichiarato:

[...]My goals moving forward as an F-35 pilot is to lead and teach my fellow pilots in Korea to become the best in the world.”

Si è posto degli obiettivi marginali.

[richelieu]

Da un più ampio articolo .....

On the F-35, Lord said the services are "working through the trades right now" on what to do about retrofitting older jets to the current 3F standard.
Readiness rates of the jet in USAF and Marine Corps service have suffered because vendors are making similar but not interchangeable parts for multiple configurations of the aircraft; necking down to fewer configurations would increase parts supply for both production and sustainment.
Lord said it will be decided by the end of the calendar year whether the Air Force will upgrade its training jets to combat configuration, and whether the Marine Corps will actually retire some more of its earliest F-35s.
She is focused on getting as many aircraft as possible to the TR, or Technical Refresh, Level 2 and 3.
Sooner, though, she will preside over a Defense Acquisition Board confirming what will be included in the "Block IV" upgrade plan that will incorporate new technologies in the F-35 over the next decade.
At her level, "Block IV ... is what we're focused on. We're working very closely with the services, they know exactly what the elements of Block IV are," Lord said, "both in terms of software and hardware. We meet on it regularly so there is no ambiguity there. We are doing ... basic systems engineering work to decompose what the end state needs to be in terms of capability, down into projects, associating time and cost with them."
While she confirmed there is now a "handshake deal" between the government and Lockheed Martin on the Lot 11 buy of F-35s, she refused to give any details or say how much the unit price will decline with the next batch of the fighters.
Lord also noted that a study which recommended that the F-35 Joint Program Office give way to separate service program offices is an eventual but not near-term plan.
A key finding of the study, though, was that "We probably needed the integration offices to have a little bit more focus. And there was a commitment by the services to put a more senior individual" in place "as the interface to the JPO."
Lord said for the time being, international partners still need a centralized entity to work with, and she noted that there are 130 foreign partners working in the JPO in key managerial positions on the multinational project.

Fonte: airforcemag.com ..... "Lord Touts Streamlining; Previews Industrial Plan, Software Blacklist, F-35 Trades" .....
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[richelieu]

Regno Unito ... ed ora sono nove ...

Five More F-35s Arrive in UK ...

A second batch of Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for Britain has made the transatlantic crossing to begin flight operations from their permanent UK base at Marham, England.
The five F-35s touched down after dusk at Marham on Aug. 3, joining the four aircraft that arrived in June to support the UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF) centenary celebrations with flybys over London and two major airshows, including the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford.
The nine jets will be operated by 617 Sqdn., the first UK F-35 frontline unit.
Britain’s fleet of F-35s now stands at 15 - with nine in the UK and six in the U.S.
Of the latter, two are posted with 17 Sqdn., a test-and-evaluation unit at Edwards AFB, California, and four with the Marine Corps pilot training unit VMFAT-501 at Beaufort, South Carolina.
These aircraft are expected to fly to the UK in 2019 to form 207 Sqdn., which will become the UK’s F-35 training unit.


The next set of five F-35s arrive at the UK’s Royal Air Force Marham air base.
Credit: RAF

The five F-35s were escorted across the Atlantic by RAF Airbus A330 Voyager Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft, taking a similar route as the first four did in June, heading out from Beaufort along the Eastern Seaboard and out to Newfoundland before crossing directly to the UK.
In June, the aircraft refueled nine times during the crossing.
Questions remain about the sluggish pace of flight operations since the F-35s first arrived in the UK.
So far, there have only been a handful of flights, mainly to support flybys and airshow appearances.
The UK Ministry of Defense announced on July 25 (*) that the F-35s had begun making use of several new concrete vertical landing pads - 67 m (220 ft.) by 67 m wide - constructed for the aircraft at Marham to support vertical landing training.
According to the defense ministry, engineers had to source special materials from Germany to produce a concrete strong enough to stand up to the high temperatures associated with the exhaust from the F-35 during vertical landing operations.
“This was the first time this material has been used outside the U.S. and required a rigorous testing process to ensure the landing pads were fit for the purpose,” defense officials stated.

- Tony Osborne, London (AW&ST - Aug. 9, 2018)

(*) ... gov.uk ... "F-35 jets use new vertical landing pads at RAF Marham for the first time" ...
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[richelieu]

A LM contratto per la prosecuzione dei lavori relativi allo sviluppo della configurazione 'Block 4' (dal 'Daily Report' dell'AFA) .....

Lockheed Gets Another $105 Million for F-35 Block 4 Development .....

The Pentagon on Thursday awarded Lockheed Martin another $105 million for design and development of F-35 Block 4 common capabilities.
The award, a modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, covers F-35 Phase 2.2(A)(1) pre-modernization of common capabilities of all F-35 variants, according to a Defense Department release (*).
The bulk of the award, approximately $84 million or about 80 percent, is for the Air Force.
Block 4 is expected to include the incorporation of additional weapons and enhancements to the aircraft’s electronic warfare suite.

- Brian Everstine

(*) ..... Contracts for Aug. 9, 2018 .....

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $104,991,053 for modification P00003 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-18-C-1004) for continued design maturation and development of contractually identified Block 4 common capabilities.
These efforts are in support of the F-35 Phase 2.2(A)(1) pre-modernization of common capabilities in support of the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and the international partners.
Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in July 2019.
Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) and international partner funds in the amount of $27,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($83,950,846; 79.96 percent) and the international partners ($21,040,207; 20.04 percent).
The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

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[richelieu]

Il Presidente Trump ha bloccato la consegna degli F-35 alla Turchia .....

..... thedrive.com ..... "No Stealth For You!: Trump Signs Defense Bill That Blocks Transfer Of F-35s To Turkey" .....

[richelieu]

FUOCO !!!



Dal 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

Hill F-35 Unit Fires the Jet’s Gun for the First Time .....

An operational F-35A has pulled the trigger to its cannon during a training strafing run for the first time.
During an Aug. 13 two-ship training flight of F-35As assigned to the 4th Fighter Squadron at Hill AFB, Utah, the aircraft fired on two sets of ground targets at the Utah Test and Training Range.
The exercise was the first time an operational unit had fired the F-35A’s 25 mm cannon in a strafing run, according to photographs of the mission posted by the 388th Fighter Wing.

..... https://www.388fw.acc.af.mil/News/Artic ... 5a-cannon/ .....

..... https://www.acc.af.mil/News/Article-Dis ... irst-time/ .....

Progress at the wing continued this week, as Hill stood up its final F-35A aircraft maintenance unit.
The 421st Aircraft Maintenance Unit will receive its first aircraft in December, but is now receiving new airmen and training on four jets it is borrowing from other units at Hill, according to a 388th release.

..... https://www.388fw.acc.af.mil/News/Artic ... ance-unit/ .....

Hill is expected to receive all 78 aircraft by the end of next year.

- Brian Everstine

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[FAS]

Per le piattaforme d'arma la Gun fire vibration è la sollecitazione piu importante ed estrema da considerare quando vengono sviluppati gli equipaggiamenti, sia che siano flight safety critical che mission critical.

A volte proprio l'utilizzo della "mitraglietta" cosrtringe la sostituzione di alcuni equipaggiamenti dopo determinate ore di volo. ( da non confondere dalle ore di operazione)

[richelieu]

LM ha ottenuto un contratto che prevede la messa a punto, nell' ambito del sistema 'ALIS', di misure di protezione di taluni dati sensibili riguardanti esclusivamente i paesi partners internazionali che avevano espresso timori circa il trasferimento di tali dati negli USA .....

International development partners and foreign customers of the F-35 have expressed concern that ALIS, which manages and analyses the fighter’s systems, training and flight logs, would automatically transmit information back to Lockheed’s hub in Fort Worth, Texas, possibly giving the company and the USA insight into their military operations.
“This effort provides F-35 international partners the capability to review and block messages to prevent sovereign data loss,” says the contract notice online.
“Additionally, the effort includes studies and recommendations to improve the security architecture of ALIS.”

Fonte: flightglobal.com ..... "Lockheed to build ALIS data transfer controls for F-35’s foreign customers" .....

Dalla pagina dei contratti del DoD del 17 Agosto 2018 .....

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $26,127,742 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0001918F2038) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020).
This order provides for non-recurring engineering activities associated with the F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) Security Architecture Phase III design, development, integration and test of the ALIS Sovereign Data Management (SDM) system in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and F-35 international partners.
This effort provides F-35 international partners the capability to review and block messages to prevent sovereign data loss.
Additionally, the effort includes studies and recommendations to improve the security architecture of ALIS.
Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (53 percent); and Orlando, Florida (47 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2020.
Fiscal 2017 and 2018 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy); and international partner funds in the amount of $26,127,742 will be obligated at time of award, $6,912,067 of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year.
This order combines purchases for the Air Force ($10,769,545; 41 percent); Marine Corps ($7,895,656; 30 percent); Navy ($1,988,809; 8 percent), and international partners ($5,473,732; 21 percent).
The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

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