JSF

[richelieu]

Un secondo squadrone di F-35 per le forze aeree israeliane ..... la cosa viene presa in considerazione .....

Israel’s cabinet is holding a special session on the future of its military that is considering, among other things, a proposal to purchase a second squadron of F-35s.

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 486893.xml

[richelieu]

Polemiche .....

Capt. Staci Reidinger recently toured the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft factory in Fort Worth, Texas, where they are building the first F-35s destined for Yuma.
This is her account of her experiences on the tour.

Un articolo altamente elogiativo nei confronti dello F-35 ..... ..... scritto da un capitano dei Marines su un quotidiano locale di Yuma .....

http://www.yumasun.com/articles/aircraf ... z243TulaGZ

..... ha suscitato un salace commento .....

Marines Corps Flack: Stealth Fighter is AMAZING — Oh Oh and American Flags!

..... da parte del blogger David Axe di "War is Boring" .....

http://www.warisboring.com/2012/08/19/m ... can-flags/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Axe

[MatteF88]

200esimo volo per gli esemplari di Eglin

Right now, the base has started to fly with enhanced Block 1B aircraft-which adds mostly improved software but also some hardware modifications. Block 1B aircraft are much more stable and predictable than Block 1A aircraft, Rountree says.

...

Currently, the flight envelop for the F-35 is "very, very restricted," Bachmann says, but there are signs of improvement there too. Initial impressions are that "it flies a lot like a combination of the F/A-18 and the F-16," says Bachmann, who was previously a test pilot at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ie-375794/

[richelieu]

Modifiche agli F-35 destinati ad Israele ..... si procede .....

Lockheed awarded $207 million contract to incorporate Israeli-specific F-35 systems .....

Fonte ..... http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ms-375899/

[MatteF88]

A breve verrà testato il comportamento a 50º AoA

Test pilots at Edwards AFB, California, are set to begin high angle-of-attack (AOA) flights and weapons separation testing on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

So far this year, pilots at the isolated desert base have flown about 350 sorties, says Lt Col George Schwartz, director of the F-35 integrated test force and commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron. Much of the activity has focused on high speed tests which have seen the F-35 being repeatedly pushed out to its maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and 700 knots calibrated airspeed-often fully laden with internal weapons.

Another ongoing theme for the Edwards test pilots is maturity testing for the software required for the F-35 training mission currently underway at Eglin AFB, Florida. The test pilots at the base have also flown night aerial refueling missions and have completed all of the engine air starts required for the F-35A conventional take-off and landing variant (CTOL).

For the engine air start tests, the F-35 needed some modifications, one of which was the addition of a second cockpit pressurization system. The added pressurization system was necessary because the tests involved shutting down the jet's engine at high altitude. "We finished that up with two engine restarts at 40,000ft and 37,500ft," Schwartz says.

Though the air start sorties were challenging in a single-engine fighter, the testing was necessary in order to move onto exploring particularly difficult parts of the jet's flight envelope. "That allowed us to go into high AOA testing where we will start expanding the envelope from 20° AOA all the way up to 50° AOA," Schwartz says. "It's going to start probably in September."

Right now, engineers are in the final stages of attaching an anti-spin parachute to aircraft AF-4. "We've finished almost everything for that," Schwartz says. The next step will be to test deploying the chute during runway taxi trials in order to make sure it works properly.

Initially, test pilots will simply push the F-35 out to 50° AOA. But then the veteran aviators will have to intentionally depart the aircraft from controlled flight in order to gauge how the jet behaves under those conditions. They will also evaluate the F-35's departure recovery procedures and its departure resistance characteristics. "It's the kind of stuff a test pilot dreams of doing," Schwartz says.

Like the transonic region of the flight envelope, high AOA testing flight is particularly tricky. While there have been improvements made, there are still some transonic roll-off problems--where the aircraft begins an uncommanded roll at speeds between Mach 0.9 and Mach 1.2--that have yet to be fully ironed out on the F-35. Those problems are being fixed with tweaks to the F-35's flight control laws. But Schwartz says, similar discoveries are possible in other challenging parts of the envelope like high AOA flight. "We expect to find stuff and we'll get it corrected," Schwartz says. "That's why we're here."

There are also ongoing trials with external weapons loads and pilots at Edwards hope to start testing weapons separations soon. Currently, all weapons pit drop tests required for the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, save for the 250lbs GBU-39 small diameter bombs, have been completed. "We're just getting ready to do our first weapons separation and that'll be in the October timeframe," Schwartz says. "We're going to do a GBU-31 and an AIM-120."

In addition to physical tests of the airframe and weapons, there are also extensive mission systems trials ongoing at Edwards. The integrated test force has already finished vetting the F-35's Block 1B software, which begins to fuse some of the data from the jet's myriad sensors, Schwartz says. That software is now being deployed with the training fleet at Eglin AFB. So far, the software has become more and more stable as testers wring out the problems and the code is corrected in later releases. But there have been some "minor integration issues," Schwartz says.

Currently, Edwards is testing the "very last part" of software Block 2A. Schwartz says that testing is complete for the low rate initial production Lot 4 jets' software. The test force is hoping to be flying with the Block 2B software load starting in the fall. "That's the one that going to be going into the first big operational test period," Schwartz says. It is also the software block that the US Marine Corps hopes to declare initial operational capability with on the F-35B.

Mission systems testing will accelerate in the next year. There are currently six F-35s at Edwards, but three more are scheduled to arrive by early 2013. Two of those will be USMC short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B-model jets while one will be a US Navy F-35C carrier variant aircraft. "Those jets will be dedicated to mission systems testing," Schwartz says. "Especially with the mission systems testing, it's in the heart of the development right now."

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... fb-375964/

[MatteF88]

The US Air Force is scheduled to start an operational utility evaluation (OUE) of its Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) fleet at Eglin AFB, Florida, on 10 September.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... er-376217/

[MatteF88]

Anche il modello STOVL è pronto per i test fino a 50º AoA

LOS ANGELES — The F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) variant has been cleared for high-angle-of-attack (high alpha) testing following completion of engine restart evaluations in August.

[...]
Meanwhile, high alpha testing of the F-35A variant for the U.S. Air Force is expected to start later this month following work to attach an anti-spin parachute on test airframe AF-4.

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 492529.xml

[MatteF88]

Schemino della linea di assemblaggio di Fort Worth

[MatteF88]

Al Pentagono non sono contenti dei ritardi (il nuovo casco/visore Elbit-Rockwell sta incontrando qualche problema) e dei costi raggiunti

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 98.xml&p=1

E il supervisore della marina, l'ammiraglio David Venlet (che mi pare abbia partecipato a scrivere uno dei libri sull'F-14 che ho a casa) questa settimana visita gli stabilimenti BAE per valutare un casco alternativo...e farà una visita anche in Italia ..

[richelieu]

Dal "Daily Report" dell' AFA di questa mattina .....

..... il giudizio positivo di un pilota da caccia .....

The Future of Fighter Airplanes .....

The F-35 strike fighter is receiving positive reviews from one airman who has already trained in it for five months.

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArch ... stone.aspx

The F-35 is "really an easy airplane to fly," said Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, commander of the 58th Fighter Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., in a Sept. 11 release.

He added, "It's very stable and well balanced and it feels very light on its feet compared to how it appears."

Kloos is an experienced fighter pilot, coming to the F-35 with more than 2,100 hours flying F-16s.

"The F-35 is here, it's real, and for the Air Force, this jet is our future," he said.

"It will continue to provide air dominance for America and our allies, and most importantly, over our troops no matter where they are in the world," he added, noting the aircraft's enhanced survivability and lethality compared to the fighters that it will replace, like the F-16.

The 58th FS, a part of Eglin's F-35 schoolhouse, is the Pentagon's first F-35A training unit.

Eglin report by SrA. Christina Brownlow ..... http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123317408

Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, 58th Fighter Squadron commander, prepares to exit an F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter, after a successful sortie May 31.
Completing this last of six flights was the final step in making him the first non-developmental test pilot to fly the JSF.
Now, Kloos can train/qualify other 33rd Fighter Wing initial cadre pilots to fly the F-35.
U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Karen Roganov

[richelieu]

Secondo un'autorevole pubblicazione britannica .....

Turkey considers F-35C purchase .....

Turkey may buy the F-35C carrier variant of the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), senior Turkish sources told *** ****** on 4 September.

Speaking to *** ******, Turkish sources said the country was looking at both the F-35C and the F-35A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variant for its fighter procurement programme, with no final decision having been taken on which variant Turkey may eventually select.

Previously, Turkey was understood to have expressed interest only in the F-35A.

It was further revealed that Turkey’s first order of the aircraft, placed in January for two F-35s at a cost of USD 400 million, included both the F-35A and the F-35C, and not just the F-35A variant as widely reported.

Accordingly, this makes Turkey the second confirmed customer for the F-35C.

It will be the responsibility of the Defence Industry Executive Committee of the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) to decide wether Turkey adopts the F-35A, F-35C or a mixture of the two.

To date, the US Navy is the only other confirmed customer for the F-35C and the only operator committed to operating just the F-35C.

.....

Any decision on which variant Turkey chooses is not expected until the next meeting of the SSM’s Defence Industry Executive Committee, chaired by the Turkish prime minister, which is not expected until December.

[richelieu]

Dal "Daily Report" dell' AFA di questa mattina ..... interventi nell'ambito dell' annuale "Air & Space Conference" .....

F-35 Hope and Gory .....

There are reasons to be optimistic about the F-35 program—and plenty to worry about, F-35 deputy program manager Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said Monday.

In his more than 20 years in acquisition, Bogdan said the relationship between Lockheed Martin and F-35 stakeholders “is the worst I’ve ever seen,” and “I guarantee …we will not succeed in this program until we get past that.”

He continued, “It should not take 10 … to 12 months to negotiate a contract with someone you’ve been doing business with for 12 years.”

Bogdan plans to streamline low-rate initial production lot negotiations and make sure that they focus on information that is meaningful.

Moreover, after billions in extra funds and a multi-year extension, “There is no more money or time for development of this program,” Bogdan said, vowing he won’t go back to Congress asking for more of either.

Instead, “we will have to make trades in a disciplined way.”

All that being said, Bogdan said he’s glad to see that flight testing is ahead of schedule for this year, though he’s not sure that racking up sorties and test points is necessarily the right way to go about testing.

He’d like to emphasize “things that are important,” particularly toward getting the first Marine Corps aircraft operational in 2015.

John A Tirpak

Bogdan Withholds Judgment on F-35 Software Improvements .....

There are more than 10 million lines of code in the F-35 strike fighter, so it’s not surprising that the program has fallen a bit behind, said Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, deputy program executive officer of the Joint Strike Fighter program.

In fact, over the last two years the F-35 software development has fallen between 90 and 100 days behind schedule, depending on who you ask.

However, Bogdan said both F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin and the joint program office “recognize that software is a huge risk and we have to do business a little different.”

Because of the complexity involved in the software, program officials have broken its capabilities into three blocks.

They are in the process of delivering Block 2A software right now and ramping up for block 2B, said Bogdan.

Block 3 is the final integration of the software into the aircraft and by far the most complicated, but the delays in Block 2 will not necessarily affect Block 3, he said.

“Over the last six months we’ve put a concerted effort into improving government oversight and Lockheed Martin processes,” said Bogdan.

He added, “I will withhold judgment as to whether [these changes] will make a huge difference or not.”

Amy McCullough

[richelieu]

Anche "AW&ST" riporta le critiche che il generale Bogdan ha rivolto al modo in cui il programma JSF è stato sino ad ora gestito .....

Incoming JSF Chief Targets Bad Relationship With Lockheed, Partners .....

The incoming director of the F-35 program says that a poor relationship between the Joint Program Office, customers and prime contractor Lockheed Martin is the biggest threat to the success of the stealthy, single-engine fighter.

“It is the worst I have ever seen” in a career of managing complex Pentagon programs ..... says U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan.

L'articolo ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 496707.xml
.

[richelieu]

E poteva mancare, in merito, il commento di Bill Sweetman sul blog "Ares" ?

The New Sheriff Ain't Happy .....

http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx? ... 9f3abaf493
.

[MatteF88]

Stavo guardando questo curioso sito australiano per vedere se se ne uscivano con un analisi dettagliata (??) del nuovo caccia cinese (tipo come hanno fatto col Sukhoi T-50) e mi sono imbattuto in questa pagina dedicata al jsf:
http://www.ausairpower.net/jsf.html
A parte che mi sembra anelino disperatamente ai raptor (ormai stan freschi), praticamente stroncano l'F-35...

[richelieu]

Stavo guardando questo curioso sito australiano per vedere se se ne uscivano con un analisi dettagliata (??) del nuovo caccia cinese (tipo come hanno fatto col Sukhoi T-50) e mi sono imbattuto in questa pagina dedicata al jsf:
http://www.ausairpower.net/jsf.html
A parte che mi sembra anelino disperatamente ai raptor (ormai stan freschi), praticamente stroncano l'F-35...

A taluni quel sito non piace per certe posizioni prese dal titolare Dr. Carlo Kopp .....

http://www.ausairpower.net/editor.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Kopp

..... personalmente, però, lo considero molto documentato ..... con informazioni, specialmente riguardo il blocco ex-sovietico, che difficilmente si possono reperire altrove .....
Certo ..... per gli Australiani (e non solo) il "Raptor" è rimasto un sogno irraggiungibile .....

[MatteF88]

[q
..... personalmente, però, lo considero molto documentato ..... con informazioni, specialmente riguardo il blocco ex-sovietico, che difficilmente si possono reperire altrove .....

Sì devo dargli atto che la sezione "russian weapons" è praticamente un enciclopedia...tornando al jsf, non capisco molto il confronto con l'F-105...

[zksimo]

Il Regno Unito ordinerà l'anno prossimo un quarto esemplare di F-35B ....

UK to order fourth F-35B next year, Hammond says .....

By: Craig Hoyle (London - 3 hours ago)

Source: /

The UK has taken delivery of its first of three F-35B Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth site in Texas, while defence secretary Philip Hammond has announced plans to order a fourth example next year.

Short take-off and vertical landing aircraft BK-1 will soon be transferred to Eglin AFB in Florida to join US-led initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) of the F-35.

Hammond also revealed that the Ministry of Defence currently favours the Royal Air Force’s Marham base in Norfolk to become the main operating site for its F-35B Lightning IIs, "but that no decision has yet been made". Land-based trials of the type are due to commence in the UK in 2018, following the nation’s involvement in the IOT&E phase of the programme.

To be flown by RAF and Royal Navy pilots, the UK’s F-35Bs will also be operated from at least one of the latter service’s future two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers from around 2020.

On July 19, 2012, the United Kingdom took delivery of its first F-35 Lightning II jet during a ceremony at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas. The jet, BK-1, is an F-35B STOVL model.


Here Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Bob Stevens addresses the crowd.


Pictured (left to right): Robert Stevens, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin; Frank Kendall, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; Sir George Zambellas, UK Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff; Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, UK Secretary of State for Defence; Larry Lawson, Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin Corporation and President, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics company; Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, UK C
hief of the Air Staff; Air Marshal Sir Kevin Leeson; Air Member for Materiel and Chief of Materiel (Air); Vice Admiral David Venlet, F-35 Lightning II Program Executive Officer; Tom Burbage, Executive Vice President and General Manager, F-35 JSF Program Integration


Here BK-1 readies for its inaugural flight with a Royal Air Force pilot at the helm.


Here BK-1 makes its inaugural flight with a Royal Air Force pilot at the helm.

beh certo...bello è bello...

[richelieu]

Lo vogliamo mettere a punto questo casco ?

JSF Officials Focus in on Helmet Issues .....

Officials with the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office are trying to determine exactly how operational the F-35 helmet would be if left in its current configuration, said Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, deputy program executive officer, during AFA’s Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 17.

“You can’t go to war with this airplane unless you have a helmet that works. Today’s helmet works in a very rudimentary way,” he said.

The concern is that the Marine Corps will either have to slip its planned 2015 date for initial operational capability of the F-35B short take-off vertical landing variant or settle for a helmet without all the planned fixes, so officials have designated a single aircraft at NAS Patuxent River, Md., to “do nothing but helmet testing,” said Bogdan.

The plan is to “gather as much information as we can about the helmet” in the next two-to-three months, so officials can determine if “the helmet is viable long-term” with the planned fixes.

In the mean time, though, officials are looking at an alternate helmet by BAE Systems to hedge their bets, he added.

“The helmet has problems and we know it. Are we sure it’s going to be fixed, not necessarily, so we have to have a backup plan,” he said.

“We are looking to see if the BAE helmet will be the backup plan.”

Amy McCullough

Inoltre .....

One F-35 Devoted Entirely To Testing Troublesome Helmet .....

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 496804.xml

.

[richelieu]

E si avvicina anche il momento della soluzione dei problemi relativi al gancio d' arresto della versione dell' US Navy .....

Lockheed Closer To Tailhook Design Fix For F-35C .....

The original design failed to snag the arresting wire in early testing owing to two problems: the point of the hook was not sharp enough to scoop under the wire and securely grab it, and a dampener device was not sufficient to maintain a hold on the wire. Essentially, the hook was bouncing upon landing, reducing the likelihood of a successful arrested landing.

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 497526.xml

[MatteF88]

Ma nello sviluppo della versione navale partecipa anche la grumman? (Dal telefono faccio fatica a cercare approfonditamente :ops: )
Mi han detto che loro di ganci per l'appontaggio se ne intendono..

[richelieu]

Ma nello sviluppo della versione navale partecipa anche la grumman? (Dal telefono faccio fatica a cercare approfonditamente :ops: )
Mi han detto che loro di ganci per l'appontaggio se ne intendono..

Partecipa .....

A leader in global security, Northrop Grumman brings its expertise in carrier aircraft and low-observable stealth technology to the F-35 program.
Northrop Grumman also supports F-35 logistics, sustainment, modeling and simulation and mission planning.

Fonte ..... https://f35.com/building-the-f-35/partner-companies/

.

[MatteF88]

Ok Grazie!

[richelieu]

Dove si parla di stive e del loro futuro contenuto .....

F-35 Bay Presents Challenges To Weapons .....

Developers of the multinational F-35 are finally embarking on a multi-year campaign to demonstrate the single-engine stealthy fighter's ability to dispatch weapons. But uncertainties loom about the impact of internal-carriage requirements on those weapons' effectiveness.

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 492718.xml

Raytheon Trimode Seeker Work Progresses With SDB II .....

The SDB II is also being designed to operate with the BRU-61 bomb rack used for the first version of the SDB .....
..... Using the BRU-61 carriage system, the Air Force can place four SDBs of either type in a single position typically occupied by a 1,000- or 2,000-lb. Joint Direct Attack Munition, quadrupling the number of targets that can be struck with a single F-35 or F-22 sortie.

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 493704.xml

[richelieu]

Incontri ravvicinati .....

New Pic: F-35 Meets Shuttle Endeavor .....

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx? ... 0e9bc34bff


Forse alla (di solito) brava Amy Butler è sfuggito il fatto che si scrive "Endeavour" .....

Endeavour's Final Flight Ends ....

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver speaks at a welcoming ceremony for space shuttle Endeavour, on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, at Los Angeles International Airport.
Beginning Oct. 30, the shuttle will be on display in the California Science center's Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion, embarking on its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and educate and inspire future generations of explorers.

Photo Credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers

[richelieu]

Ancora a proposito di stive e del loro contenuto .....

Pagina interattiva .....

http://www.aviationweek.com/Portals/awe ... apons.html

A high speed camera mounted in the weapons bay of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter captures a 1,000-lb. Joint Direct-Attack Munition just after release, during the aircraft's first safe-separation trial Aug. 8 near NAS Patuxent River, Md.
The squares and circles on the JDAM are photogrammetric markers.
Cameras tracked the JDAM as it separated from the bay.
Engineers compare the images to predictive models.

A high-speed engineering camera captures an image of the 1,000-lb. JDAM just after being released from the F-35B during last month's safe-separation test.
Credit: JSFJoint Program Office

An F-35B conducts its first weapons safe-separation test with a clean, 1,000-lb. JDAMdrop.
Credit: JSFJoint Program Office

Un breve video .....

[richelieu]

Ancora sulle recenti critiche rivolte dal generale Bogdan al programma JSF ..... un lungo articolo di Amy Butler sul sito di "AW&ST" .....

Incoming F-35 Director Thumps Lockheed Leadership .....

The biggest threat to the stealthy, F-35 fighter program is not just the technical challenge of crafting three variants for three different purposes.
It is not the engineering challenges—such as excessive weight, helmet integration problems or even software development.
Nor the complexity of nine nations cooperating on the roughly $400 billion program.
It is not even the financial limitations, the serious squeezes on defense budgets and growing concern among customers about rising unit cost.

Those problems are daunting enough.
But the man the Pentagon has tapped to direct the program has identified yet another.
In a high-profile speech last week, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan dropped a bombshell, saying the dismal relationship among stakeholders, the Pentagon's joint program office and prime contractor Lockheed Martin, is the biggest threat to its success.
His remarks visibly disturbed senior Lockheed Martin officials sitting in the front row of the audience at the Air Force Association conference.

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 497815.xml

[richelieu]

Insieme .....

Dal "Daily Report" dell' AFA di Lunedi 24 Settembre 2012 .....

An F-35A Lightning II (top) from the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla., and an F-22A Raptor from the 325th FW at Tyndall AFB, Fla., soar over the coast of northwest Florida, Sept. 19, 2012.
This was the first time the Air Force's two fifth generation fighters have flown together, according to Eglin officials.
Air Force photo by MSgt. Jeremy T. Lock

[richelieu]

Dall' album di Lockheed Martin su "flickr.com" .....




"F-35 Spots The Shuttle .....
An F-35A test aircraft flies over Space Shuttle Endeavour at Edwards AFB, Calif. on Sept. 20, 2012."

L' album .....

[richelieu]

Gancio d'arresto, casco, software ..... pare che Lockheed Martin ce la stia mettendo tutta .....

Lockheed Martin Tests Some JSF Fixes .....

Lockheed Martin is inching closer to solving some of the technical challenges encountered with the F-35 during developmental testing.

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 497821.xml


Certo che ..... dopo la raffica di legnate impartitale dal generale Bogdan .....

[FAS]

ma vi siete accorti che hanno bisogno ancora del nose boom per volare?!!?!?









non riuscivo piu a trattenermi

[richelieu]

ma vi siete accorti che hanno bisogno ancora del nose boom per volare?!!?!?

non riuscivo piu a trattenermi

Si vede che non sono stati ancora 'svezzati' .....

[richelieu]

Un editoriale .....

Editorial .....

Pentagon Should Investigate Fighter Options Beyond The F-35

Aviation Week & Space Technology Oct 01, 2012 , p. 58



In October 2001, when the U.S. Defense Department awarded Lockheed Martin the contract to develop the Joint Strike Fighter , it looked like the deal of the century for the company and its customer. In the largest defense procurement in history, Lockheed would produce three variants of one stealthy design to replace the mixed and aging fleets of three U.S. services, saving money and time.

Eleven years in, the deal still looks pretty good for Lockheed, but less so for its customers , including the eight international partners. In 2001, they expected by 2020 to be operating a large fleet of stealthy “fifth-generation” fighters.

Instead, the cost to develop and produce the aircraft has grown to $330.5 billion, far more than the original $177.1 billion estimate (both in 2012 dollars). Projections of operating and support costs for the F-35 have escalated far beyond the estimates of 2001, and fielding is years behind the original schedule. In fact, 11 years in, the exact timings—and capability levels—for initial operation of the three variants are still uncertain.

Before going farther down this cracked and broken path, the Pentagon needs to take a hard look at the consequences. On schedule and affordability, the JSF program is already a failure. In terms of capabilities and the long-term benefits of commonality, the jury is still out. And even if the F-35 delivers on everything it promised, the world has changed since 2001.

One problem is the lack of competition. Including the F-22 , Lockheed will have been the sole U.S. producer of all-new fighters for 50 years by the time a “sixth-generation” aircraft comes along—no earlier than 2030—with significant consequences for the industrial base.

Faced with an ill-defined, but unacceptable trillion-dollar sustainment cost estimate for the F-35 fleet, the new tough-talking leader of the joint program office is considering abandoning the contractor-run support system and opening it to competition, including from government depots.

That might work long term, but it would do little to help warfighters stay ahead of threats through the 2020s. By 2021, U.S. forces will be operating only a fraction of the 2,400-plus F-35s they plan to buy. The bulk of U.S. fleets will comprise the same F-15s , F-16s and F/A-18s of 2001.

Some portion of that force will have been upgraded with the latest radars, avionics and weapons—at a cost that was not anticipated when the F-35 contract was awarded. But, for the most part, their airframes and engines will date back to the 1980s and 1990s, with all the costs and issues that come with age.

One bold plan might be for President Barack Obama or Republican rival Mitt Romney to commit the Pentagon to competing the purchase of its next 300 fighters. It would shake things up, although it is questionable the Pentagon could stage a meaningful competition between the F-35 with its estimated costs and promised abilities and the F-15 , F-16 and F/A-18 with known costs and available capabilities. And the value of new tails must be balanced against the impact of reducing F-35 procurement, potentially causing partners to defect, production rates to drop and costs to soar.

But complexity is no excuse for inaction. The Pentagon has begun to act by acknowledging there is a problem and publicly increasing pressure to perform. Step 2, also underway, is to gauge the severity of the problem and come to realistic acquisition and operating cost projections so the U.S. and its partners can decide what they can afford.

There must be a hedge against further problems. The U.S. should keep producing F/A-18s for the Navy, upgrading F-16s for the Air Force and promoting the F-15 and F-16 internationally so a fallback option remains open. Then, the Defense Department must revisit how to evolve tactical aviation through the 2020s and sustain the industrial base to keep competition alive for the next fighter.

The F-35 's problems could provide an opportunity to adjust military plans to the new capabilities and realities that have emerged since 2001. Instead of the smooth transition to the fifth-generation fighter force envisioned then, the turbulent, mixed-fleet 2020s could bring a reason to rethink. Some military leaders already say U.S. relies too much on stealth—a technology China is moving rapidly to match. There is nothing to say the U.S. must wait beyond 2030 for the next fighter , or to introduce competition for the F-35 .

[MatteF88]

C'è sempre il problema riguardo al trasporto del F135 sulle portaerei già in uso (le future Ford saranno già predisposte) e le navi cargo che dovranno essere modificate, inoltre sembra che non basterà neppure dividere il motore in diversi moduli per essere aviotrasprtato..
Dovranno essere creati a bordo delle portaerei delle zone dedicate per le batterie agli ioni di Litio

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... es-377171/

[MatteF88]

Video sui test del "B" e del "C"