Il Giappone abbandona la produzione degli F-35 sul suolo nazionale .....
Defence officials also pointed out that Japan will stop using a final assembly and check-out (FACO) facility for the country’s F-35As from FY 2019 and start buying completed F-35As and F-35Bs to reduce procurement costs.
The defense ministry has decided to drop local assembly of F-35s, which has been blamed for contributing to the high price Japan has been paying for the stealth fighters.
Sugli F-35 non si discute.
Già i tagli del passato sono stati un errore.
Non si può pensare di ridurre nuovamente: per le capacità delle Forze armate sarebbe deleterio.
È quanto emerge dalle parole del sottosegretario alla Difesa Angelo Tofalo, che in passato si era già espresso sul Joint Strike Fighter, definendo “irresponsabile” un’eventuale uscita italiana.
Intervistato da La Verità, il sottosegretario in quota M5S è tornato sul punto: tagliare per guadagnare qualche voto è sbagliato; in gioco ci sono capacità operative, ritorni tecnologici, industriali e occupazionali di tutto rispetto.
The Block IV version of the F-35 will add a fifth “mission thread” to the four missions it already performs - that of “expanded surface warfare” - Joint Strike Fighter Program Executive Officer Vice Adm. Mat Winter said in a Thursday interview with Air Force Magazine.
The new mission boils down to improved capability “in maritime strike,” Winter told Air Force Magazine.
The four core missions in the F-35 baseline version are: air superiority, suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses, close air support, and strategic attack of key targets.
..... e non solo .....
The Joint Program Office also has endorsed keeping Turkey as an F-35 partner despite concerns about that country buying a Russian-made missile defense system, Winter said.
He also confirmed Japan’s expanded order for F-35s and said the Navy is on track to be operational with the C model of the fighter in two months.
A proposito dell' Elephant Walk (operazione che piace da morire agli Yankees ) realizzato, nell' ambito di una importante esercitazione 'combat power', svoltasi presso la Hill AFB il 19 Novembre scorso ..... una serie di interessanti immagini .....
The UK has met its initial operational capability target for the Lockheed Martin F-35B, with nine examples assigned to the Royal Air Force's 617 Sqn now deemed "ready to be deployed on operations around the world"
A newly-launched prototyping program could lead to a fleet-wide electronic warfare upgrade for the U.S. Air Force’s more than 900 F-16s.
The proposed upgrades could include a full suite of passive and active systems, including a digital radar warning receiver, self-protection jammer and towed decoy, acquisition documents released on Jan. 3 by the Air Force Research Laboratory say. Although once expected to be replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35, the Air Force now wants to make sure the singled-engine F-16 fleet is relevant up to 2046.
In December, the Air Force briefed industry officials on a 15-year-long upgrade strategy that begins with a prototyping phase this year.
The Air Force wants to select two vendors to build prototypes of a digital radar warning receiver with increased frequency bandwidth and an enhanced capability to detect the position of radio frequency emitters.
If the prototypes are successful, the Air Force plans to begin fielding the new upgraded emissions detector starting at the end of 2021.
Two years later, the Air Force could extend the upgrade to active electronic warfare systems, including a new, internally-mounted self-protection jammer and upgraded towed decoy.
The Air Force’s acquisition strategy calls for using prototypes rather than the traditional acquisition process in order to cut 4 1/2 years from the development process, the service says.
The US Air Force and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) are examining integrating the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II into the US ballistic missile defense system.
The stealth fighter’s abilities, especially its sensors, were highlighted as part of the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Review(*), released on 17 January, which stressed Russia, China, Iran and North Korea’s growing arsenal of cruise and ballistic missiles as a potential threat to US security.
“Our F-16s will have to retire soon after 2030,” said defence minister Ng Eng Hen in a tweet.
“Happy to report that [Defence Science and Technology Agency] and [the air force] have completed their technical evaluation for the replacement, and have decided that the F-35 would be the most suitable replacement fighter.”
Production of the F-35 Lightning II is on course to make its latest rate rise this year, after Lockheed Martin met its contractual target to deliver 91 of the fifth-generation fighter during 2018.
Detailing last year's delivery total, Lockheed says a combined 54 aircraft were handed over to the US Air Force, US Marine Corps and US Navy, while 21 went to partner nations.
The remaining 16 were shipped to Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme customers.
After eight years of production deliveries, the coming 12 months will provide the sternest test yet for Lockheed, its manufacturing partners BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman, and countless other companies throughout its sprawling supply chain for the Lightning II.
Success should keep the programme on a path to delivering an $80 million F-35A from 2020, but any fresh turbulence could deter additional prospective buyers, and offer encouragement to rival producers such as Boeing, Dassault, Eurofighter and Saab.
Ancora sulla recente decisione del Giappone di abbandonare la produzione in loco degli F-35 .....
Japan has taken the local final assembly and checkout, or FACO, route since 2013 for the final assembly of F-35As it previously ordered.
According to the ATLA spokesperson, the FACO facility, which is operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, will continue to carry out production work until FY22 to fulfill the F-35As contracted by Japan between FY15 and FY18.
Gli F-35A del 388th Fighter Wing pertecipano a Red Flag 19-1 .....
Pilots and maintainers from the 388th Fighter Wing are bringing the F-35A and ‘increased lethality’ as they take a lead role in Red Flag 19-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada,
From Jan. 26 - Feb. 15, approximately 200 Airmen from Hill AFB, including reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing, will participate in what is known as the Air Force’s premier combat training exercise.
The 388th FW debuted the F-35A Lightning II at Red Flag in 2017 and came away with a 20:1 kill ratio.
The jet is even more capable now, pilots say.
Mentre negli USA e in altri paesi procedono alacremente le operazioni di sviluppo, produzione e introduzione in servizio del velivolo ..... un esponente del nostro Governo .....
Questa mattina ho incontrato Mrs Ellen Lord, Sottosegretario alla Difesa degli Stati Uniti, con la quale ho avuto un colloquio proficuo e costruttivo.
Abbiamo spaziato sulle tematiche più significative ed importanti di natura industriale e di cooperazione nel settore della Difesa.
La Lord mi ha chiesto in particolare del programma F35.
Me l’aspettavo.
Con l’estrema sincerità che lega due popoli amici e con assoluta fermezza ho espresso le molteplici perplessità che questo governo ha sul programma.
Ho chiaramente detto che è in atto uno studio specifico, approfondito ed attento sul dossier F35, mirato a verificarne anche il rapporto costi/benefici.
In 20 anni abbiamo già speso diversi miliardi.
Una volta completato lo studio, il Ministro Trenta lo sottoporrà al Presidente Conte per le opportune valutazioni e conseguenti decisioni.
Nel contempo ho anche chiesto al mio omologo statunitense di supportarci politicamente nell’indirizzare altri Paesi a realizzare i propri velivoli in Italia presso la FACO di Cameri, asset strategico della nostra Aeronautica Militare, al fine di salvaguardare le capacità occupazionali dello stabilimento.
“In terms of the F-35, it is well supported across the board, regardless of whatever platform the Department of Defense is looking at,” she says.
“If they chose to have an order of the F-15, it won’t be at the expense of the F-35 quantities. I’m hearing that directly from leadership in the Pentagon.”
Olanda ..... presentato il primo F-35 operativo ..... a Fort Worth .....
Lockheed Martin has rolled out its first operational F-35A for the Royal Netherlands Air Force, ahead of its transfer to the service's Leeuwarden air base later this year.
The fighter was unveiled during a ceremony at the company's Fort Worth final assembly site in Texas on 30 January.
Even after years of updates and improvements, the F-35’s logistics system continues to be beset by data gaps and bugs that make it more difficult for maintainers to keep the joint strike fighter mission-ready, stated the Pentagon’s chief weapons tester in a new report.
The Lockheed Martin-made Autonomic Logistics Information System or ALIS was “designed to bring efficiency to maintenance and flight operations, but it does not yet perform as intended,” wrote Robert Behler, director of operational test and evaluation, in his annual report released Thursday (*).
Nonostante l' ennesimo rapporto non del tutto favorevole del DOT&E .....
Despite a Director of Operational Test and Evaluation report that said the F-35’s readiness hasn’t much improved in the last year, the Air Force thinks it can get its fleet up to an 80 percent mission capability rate by the end of the fiscal year, as directed by former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
That assessment came from Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, USAF’s top uniformed acquisition official, who spoke to an AFA industry audience Friday.
“We’re pushing” for the 80 percent mark, “and … we believe we can make that,” Bunch said.
“We’re not going to be 80 percent with everything,” he conceded, but we will achieve that goal “with our combat-coded aircraft” in the F-35 fleet, as well as in the F-16 and F-22 fleets.
The DOT&E report gigged the F-35 program’s sluggish improvement in availability, but the Pentagon has acknowledged that newer jets off the line are performing far better than early production models.
Considerato che la cancellazione totale del programma F35 (piattaforma a mio avviso nata originariamente peggio della media) era stata fra le bandiere più sventolate di qual partito, pardon! MoVimento con non-statuto...
...penso che l'opposizione avrà buon gioco a sbeffeggiarli un po' in vista delle regionali...
"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
LONDON - Industry in Denmark, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the UK have secured component repair work for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Work assignments for the maintenance, repair and overhaul work on some 400 repairable items including avionics, life support systems, landing gear, pumps and power systems for the aircraft was issued by the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) on Feb. 12.
Under current plans, the F-35 enterprise is awarding contracts for more than 770 repairable items on the aircraft.
The first batch of 65 of these contracts was issued in late 2016 for so-called high-value electrical components, fuel, mechanical and hydraulic systems, and ejection seats. Having secured the lion’s share of the first round of contracts, British industry has also grabbed a significant proportion of work in the second, British government officials have confirmed.
This will lead to the creation of additional jobs at Sealand Support Services Limited (SSSL), the joint venture established between BAE Systems Northrop Grumman and the Defense Electronics and Components Agency (DECA).
It will carry out the component repair work at its facility in Sealand, Wales, to support European operators of the aircraft.
The MRO work is due to start at Sealand in 2021.
The additional work is said to be worth around £500 million ($643.6 million).
“From 2021, there will be hundreds of F-35s flying across the globe and SSSL will be central to sustaining operations in the European region and around the world, providing essential MRO services,” SSSL managing director Rear Adm. Rick Thompson said.
“These global repair assignments will get F-35 parts into the hands of maintainers faster so they can fix and sustain aircraft more efficiently,” said Vice Adm. Mat Winter, the F-35 program executive officer.
The contracts are part of the F-35’s Global Support Solution. The JPO says that participating nations have been provided with requirements outlining repair needs for F-35 component workload.
Each country was then given the opportunity to work with industry to submit responses.
Regional considerations such as forward basing, aircraft phasing, and transportation have contributed to assignment decisions.
Work assignments will be reviewed and updated as required by the program, the JPO says.
Under current plans, the assignments awarded in Europe will support the worldwide fleet.
But as F-35 operations in the Asia-Pacific region pick up pace in the mid-2020s, component repair support services will also be established in that region.
So far, the JPO has issued assignments to industry in Australia, Japan and South Korea.
BAE also picked up F-35 overall component work for its facilities in Australia.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office intends to solicit and negotiate multiple contracts to buy 485 stealth fighters from Lockheed Martin.
The negotiations are for aircraft to be built as part of production Lots 15, 16 and 17, the Department of Defense office said in a notice posted online 13 February announcing its intent to begin bargaining.
The contracts would provide for long lead time materials, parts, components, initial spares, and labour, as well as production and testing equipment.
F-35 ... primo rifornimento in volo da un KC-46A ...
The Boeing KC-46A Pegasus air tanker refuelled a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II for the first time over California.
The tanker connected to the fighter aircraft with its refuelling boom on 22 January, marking the first time the Pegasus has refuelled a stealth aircraft, says the US Air Force.
The KC-46A will also have to prove it can refuel the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit.
Anche qui viene messo in evidenza il rischio di 'graffiature' alla 'pelle' del velivolo ...
The test came as Boeing and the Air Force are working to address deficiencies with the aircraft’s refueling system, including one that could cause scrapes to receiving aircraft.
This could be a significant problem for stealth aircraft, such as the F-35, that rely on low-observable paint.
If that coating is damaged, it could cause a reduction in the aircraft’s stealth capabilities.
Il DoD assegna un contratto a Northrop Grumman Australia ...
Northrop Grumman Australia was awarded a contract by the US Department of Defense for maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) work on Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters stationed in the Asia-Pacific region.
Northrop Grumman Australia, as well as BAE Systems, Moog, Ruag, NIOA, Survitec, and GE Aviation, will provide services for 13 of 17 MRO&U component repair technology groups assigned to the Asia-Pacific region, the company said on 22 February (*).
The value of the contract awarded to Northrop Grumman Australia was not disclosed.
"Se acquistano i sistemi missilistici dalla Russia ... non dovete dar loro gli F-35!" ... dice il Generale ...
The top uniformed officer in NATO and the head of American forces in Europe said Tuesday that if Turkey goes through with its decision to buy a Russian air defense system, he would recommend the Pentagon refuse to give Ankara its planned purchase of the F-35 joint strike fighter.
Testifying in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said it would be his “best military advice" that sales to Turkey of the F-35 be cut, should that nation buy the S-400 air defense system.
“If they accept the S-400 to establish it in Turkey, there is first the issue that it’s not interoperable with NATO systems, nor is it interoperable inside of our integrated missile defense system. The second has to do with the F-35. It presents a problem to all of our aircraft, but specifically the F-35, I believe,” Scaparrotti said.
The F-35 is expected to complete initial operational test and evaluation late this year, certifying the Block 3F version is fully combat-ready.
By that time, work will be well underway for dozens of planned upgrades, collectively known as Block 4.
Block 4 comprises some 53 improvements to counter both air- and ground-based threats emerging from China and Russia.
None of these upgrades will change the aircraft’s outer appearance, or “mold line.”
Instead, they are primarily new or enhanced features executed in software, which will be rolled out in stages, with updates every April and October starting in 2019 and continuing through at least 2024.
Turchia ... le pressioni degli USA si fanno sempre più decise ...
The Pentagon on Friday ratcheted up its threats to Turkey - a NATO ally - if it proceeds with its planned purchase of the Russian-made S-400 “Triumf” surface-to-air missile system.
Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers told reporters there would be “grave consequences” in terms of Turkey’s relationship with the US if it completes the purchase, including, but not limited to, blocking the country from buying the F-35 and the Patriot missile system.
Results would be “very heavy,” he said.
The exercise Red Flag 19-2 just started at Nellis AFB, Nevada (USA), marks the first participation of a F-35A multinational unit that includes officers from USA, Italy and Norway, we are talking about 62nd Fighter Squadron based at Luke AFB.
The 62nd FS belongs to the 56th Fighter Wing and has the task to train pilots and instructors on F-35A.
This RF session also marks Italy's first participation in the advanced aerial exercise with the F-35 stealth aircraft
Kongsberg has entered into a deal with Tokyo to supply its Joint Strike Missile (JSM) for use by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
The Norwegian company disclosed the deal in a statement (*), but said that neither it nor the Japanese government are disclosing the number of weapons or the value of the contract.
The timing of deliveries was also not discussed.
Un missile, attualmente in fase di integrazione sullo JSF, che ben si adatterebbe anche ai nostri velivoli ... senza che il nostro Paese si debba imbarcare, solitario, in un finanziariamente assai oneroso percorso onde integrare un qualche prodotto di origine nazionale ... .
) realizzato, nell' ambito di una importante esercitazione 'combat power', svoltasi presso la Hill AFB il 19 Novembre scorso ..... una serie di interessanti immagini .....
