F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

[MarkOttawa]

French chief of air staff on F-35 (Google Translate):

F-35 worries Air Force
04 August 2017 at 15h03
Chief of staff, General André Lanata, spoke of the American aircraft before the deputies of the Defense Committee.

"The F-35 will quickly become a benchmark standard in the world's air force, not just in the United States, but also in our major partners. Whether one is outclassed by the United States is not surprising; That one begins to be by equivalent partners is another matter, " said General Lanata, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, at his recent hearing in the National Assembly . Among these "equivalent partners" , he cited the United Kingdom and Australia among others. "I see very significant pressure from the US aerospace industry in Europe, with the gradual deployment of a new generation F-35 combat aircraft. The latter is changing the operational capabilities due mainly to its discretion - it is not detected by current radars - and its connectivity capabilities: it massively connects information with other devices in the Air combat. If I speak of an air combat system, it is that we should not consider each airplane taken in isolation, but should conceive the system as a whole: it is this system which produces effects, thanks to the connection we reach To establish between the various mobiles of the air combat device , "he added.

Without addressing it directly - at least in the revised and corrected version in his hearing - General Lanata addressed the question of Germany, which is interested in the F-35 to replace the Tornados, although no decision is taken Expected next year. "It seems to me interesting to take an initiative with Germany to engage in a dialogue, to explore the possibilities for cooperation to replace our fleets of combat aircraft together. In the first approach we may have needs similar to those of Germany in this field. We are still two countries in Europe that have investment capacities, Germany demonstrates the will, with the significant increase in its defense budgets. Germany could be a partner on the condition, however, of finding the balanced industrial architectures which will allow the realization of these cooperations. We will have to put forward our strengths in this area. "
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lopinion.fr%2Fblog%2Fsecret-defense%2Ff-35-preoccupe-l-armee-l-air-131972&edit-text=

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Kirkhill]

It wouldn't be the Germans first time flying American aircraft - hopefully their experience would echo that of the Phantom and not the Starfighter.

For the French - a very different issue.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Chris Pook: And remember the Luftwaffe's 225 Canadair Sabre Mk 6s and 25 Mk 5s:
http://www.airshow-laage.com/f-86-sabre/

Plus:
http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/flugwerft/collections/jet-aircraft/f-86/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Kirkhill]

Didn't know that Mark.  Thanks.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Hmm--F-35B for Israel? Or advanced F-15s?

Israel weighing interest in STOVL-variant F-35

New threats faced by Israel have placed the potential purchase of short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant Lockheed Martin F-35Bs as a high priority.

Discussions are under way, with Israel's defence ministry hoping to reach a decision before a new 10-year Foreign Military Financing agreement with the USA comes into effect in 2019.

Deliveries of conventional take-off and landing F-35Is to the Israeli air force continue, with the service having so far placed orders for 50 examples. The “Golden Eagle” squadron which operates the "Adir" and the air force's flight test squadron continue to adapt the stealth fighter to meet the nation's specific requirements, with this work including the addition of a number of Israeli-developed systems.

Israel's initial requirement was for 75 F-35s, and the need to replace older Boeing F-15 fighters – the oldest of which were delivered in 1976 – is becoming a high-priority issue.

Sources indicate that the Israeli air force will have to choose between obtaining additional F-35s – potentially including STOVL examples – or an advanced version of the F-15. No details have been revealed of the potential F-15 variant on which evaluations are being based, but this is expected to be capable of carrying an expanded weapons load.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/israel-weighing-interest-in-stovl-variant-f-35-439959/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Ostrozac]

Hmm--F-35B for Israel?

One does wonder what Israel would do with a STOVL version of the F-35. Their surface navy is negligible, so it's not for operations at sea. Maybe they would be equipped with nuclear gravity bombs and act as a survivable/dispersable capability for a nuclear second strike.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Lots more on Israel at DID:

Adir Who? Israel’s F-35i Stealth Fighters
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/israel-plans-to-buy-over-100-f35s-02381/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Good2Golf]

One does wonder what Israel would do with a STOVL version of the F-35. Their surface navy is negligible, so it's not for operations at sea. Maybe they would be equipped with nuclear gravity bombs and act as a survivable/dispersable capability for a nuclear second strike.

Combined operations?

 

[MarkOttawa]

Israeli worried about airfield vulnerability to Hezbollah/Iranian SSMs?

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

From GAO:

Report to Congress on F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Modernization Efforts

The following is the Aug. 8, 2017 Government Accountability Office report to Congress, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: DOD’s Proposed Follow-on Modernization Acquisition Strategy Reflects an Incremental Approach Although Plans Are Not Yet Finalized...
https://news.usni.org/2017/08/09/report-congress-f-35-joint-strike-fighter-modernization-efforts

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Israeli worried about airfield vulnerability to Hezbollah/Iranian SSMs?

Mark
Ottawa

Most likely, however it would not take much to determine which portions of their highway system is useful as a runway for laden aircraft.

 

[Kirkhill]

Falklands - Harriers operating off of mats.

the San Carlos FOB runway length was 260m long, just 17m or so short of a QE carrier

In 1991 and Desert Storm, as the Air Power Survey Summary Report by Cohen and Keaney clearly stated;

The closest land or carrier basing put aircraft 175 or more miles from the nearest targets in the Kuwait theater and more than triple that distance for targets in the Baghdad region. The bulk of the combat aircraft flew  from  bases  in  southern  Saudi  Arabia  and  the  coastal  Gulf states;  for them  and  the  Red  Sea  carrier  aircraft,  the  targets  were  700 to  1.000  miles away,  well  beyond  the  unrefuelled  combat  radius  of most  aircraft

This ignored the use of forward bases by the USMC who made use of a forward site at Tanajib. This allowed a small number of USMC AV-8B Harrier’s to operate at less than 40 miles distance from the ground operations and without the need for extensive airborne refuelling.  They used Tanajib from 9th Feb 1991 as a forward arming and refuelling location. Tanajib was an oil field support base owned by the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) that already had an airstrip but this was expanded by moving 200,00 cubic yards of material and the creation of 1.75 million square feet of AM-2 matting for taxiways and aircraft parking. That Tanajib already had a runway is not in dispute but it was made practical as forward location by allowing scarce surfacing resources to be diverted from runway creation and on to parking and handling areas.

In 2003 USMC Harrier’s also played an important part in operations in Iraq.

Commenting on the operation, Major General James AMOS USMC said;

I had my Harriers flying off of highways and bombed-out runways as we advanced on Baghdad for the final showdown

http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2013/02/looking-forward-to-an-f35-future-part-5-by-sea-by-land/


Be interesting to see if the F35B can operate as austerely as the Harrier given its more powerful, and hotter, jet.

 

[a_majoor]

Came across an interesting "then and now" article comparing the F-105 "Thundercheif" to the F-35. The issue, of course is using the plane in ways it was not designed for. In this case, the "Thud" was a nuclear capable strike bomber which was being used to deliver "iron bombs" and secondarily as a fighter (despite being almost as large and heavy as a WWII era bomber!). While the plane gave sterling service during the Viet Nam war, pilots needed to adapt their tactics to the plane. The Thud was much faster and had greater straight line acceleration than many other aircraft of the era (the apparently often outran their escorting Phantoms), so pilots needed to use that to their advantage.

Fast forward to today, the F-35 is also primarily a strike aircraft, and airforces using it need to develop tactics which take advantage of the aircrafts stealth, highly advanced sensor suite and ability to share data across multiple platforms and domains

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/americas-f-105-thunderchief-fighter-the-f-35-the-vietnam-war-16839

America's F-105 Thunderchief Fighter-Bomber: The F-35 of the Vietnam War?
David Axe
July 3, 2016

The U.S. military’s new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter can’t turn fast enough to defeat a much older F-16 in mock air combat, according to an official test pilot report that War Is Boring obtained.

So how will F-35s — on track to be the U.S. Air Force’s most numerous fighter — survive in battle against foes flying much more nimble Russian and Chinese jets?

Look to history for possible answers. Fifty years ago, the Air Force was in a similar predicament. Its main strike fighter was the F-105 Thunderchief — a heavy, high-tech ground-attacker that, much like the F-35, was supposed to also be able to defeat enemy fighters.

But in fact, the F-105 — like the F-35 — turned too slowly to reliably beat the Russian-made MiG-21, the Thunderchief’s main potential rival at the time. So the Air Force worked out special tactics to help the F-105 survive.

The flying branch will have to do the same for the F-35.

The similarities between the F-35 and F-105 are striking. “Both the F-105 and JSF are large, single-seat, single-engine strike fighters, using the most powerful engine of the era … [and] with empty weights in the 27,000-pound class, and wingspans almost identical at 35 feet,” Carlo Kopp, an Australian aerospace analyst, wrote in 2004.

“Both carry internal weapon bays and multiple external hardpoints for drop tanks and weapons,” Kopp continued. “Both were intended to achieve combat radii in the 400-nautical-mile class. Neither have by the standards of their respective periods high thrust-weight ratio or energy maneuver capability favored for air superiority fighters and interceptors.”

The Air Force acquired 833 F-105s and lost no fewer than 334 over Vietnam between 1965 and 1970. North Vietnamese MiGs shot down 22 Thunderchiefs while, according to Kopp, F-105s shot down at least 27 MiGs — near parity in air-to-air combat.

But the Pentagon wasn’t content with parity. To improve its tactics, in 1969 the Air Force conducted mock air battles between an F-105 and a ex-Iraqi MiG-21 as part of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s “Have Doughnut” program. The MiG’s pilot had defected to Israel with his jet, and the Israelis generously allowed the Americans to borrow the speedy, nimble little fighter.

The experiment did not go well for the F-105. Encountering a MiG-21, the F-105 crew should try to flee, the testers advised. If the F-105 was behind the MiG-21 and the MiG flier didn’t know it, the Thunderchief crew could attempt a high-speed ambush.

But when the F-105 and MiG-21 started out in equal and opposite positions, the American plane was in trouble. “If the F-105 attacker attempts a prolonged maneuvering engagement, it becomes vulnerable to follow-up attacks as the offensive situation deteriorates due to loss of energy and maneuvering potential,” the Air Force reported.

The F-35 pilot in the JSF-on-F-16 test reported a similar dynamic. “Insufficient pitch rate,” the F-35 flier complained about his stealthy fighter-bomber. In a turning fight, “energy deficit to the bandit would increase over time.”

But while the F-105 enjoyed a straight-line speed advantage over most rivals, the F-35 is actually slower than today’s Sukhoi, Shenyang and Chengdu fighters. Fortunately, the JSF is a stealth warplane, with design features that help it avoid detection by long-range sensors in certain circumstances.

If the F-35 is to survive in future wars, its operators must devise tactics that take advantage of this one attribute, Kopp advised. “The decisive factor for the JSF in this game will be its limited stealth performance.”

 

[MarkOttawa]

And from Air Power Australia in 2007:

Joint Strike Fighter = Thunderchief II?
Back to the Future in Battlefield Interdiction
...

http://www.ausairpower.net/Analysis-JSF-Thud-2004.html

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Good2Golf]

The 'Thud' is clearly better, because it has more rivets than the F-35.  More is always better...

I'm going to start reading the National Enquirer to get my subject-matter information on important programs such as the F-35. 

G2G

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I think the comparison is interesting in it that fighter aircraft, like tanks are constrained to certain parameters and those have been around longer than many realize. Also the key message seems to be, the F-35 like the Thud is going to require a rethink on how it’s deployed and used in potential combat. Reminding this generation that previous generations went through the same problems and carried many assumptions that did not prove true. 

 

[MarkOttawa]

In good time it would seem for RCAF to procure in working order and at reasonable cost (note USAF planes planned for Alaska 2020):

F-35 Development Inches Closer To Finish Line

The F-35 is nearing the end of its 16-year and roughly $60 billion development phase, with release expected this fall of the final software load that will give the stealth fighter its final warfighting capability. But the Pentagon still has significant hurdles to overcome before it can field the Joint Strike Fighter in its final warfighting form, including full use of crucial air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.

The first operational U.S. Air Force F-35 squadron is set to receive its initial aircraft configured with a version of the long-awaited Block 3F software in September. But the event, while a sign of progress toward the end of the F-35’s lengthy development phase, is mostly symbolic. The 34th Fighter Sqdn., known as the “Rude Rams,” of Hill AFB, Utah, will receive F-35 aircraft equipped with an initial release of 3F, but not the final updates that are still under test, according to service spokesman Capt. Mark Graff.

This means the aircraft will have all the capabilities of 3F but be restricted to the more limited 3i flight envelope and weapons the squadrons are currently flying, Graff says.

Even with the final version of 3F, the Air Force will not be able to use the newest aircraft in combat. The service will, however, still be able to deploy the majority of the aircraft in the squadron, which are in the 3i configuration, Graff stresses. The Pentagon has not yet finished building and testing the operational Mission Data File (MDF) set for the 3F software, which will provide a vast databank of threat information needed for combat, Graff notes...

The fully validated Block 3F MDF set will not be ready for its formal operational test phase until June 2018 at the earliest, the Pentagon’s top weapons tester has warned.

In addition to the final 3F software load and the associated MDF set, each squadron also needs a complete set of 3F Full-Mission Simulators to field the final capability.

In its final warfighting form, the F-35 will be able to employ its full suite of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons—including Raytheon’s short-range AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, the General Dynamics AU-22 25-mm gun and Boeing precision-guided Small-Diameter Bomb 1 for the Air Force; and Raytheon’s AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon for the U.S. Navy—throughout the full flight envelope...

Though delivery of aircraft equipped with initial 3F software is a sign the development phase—called System Development and Demonstration (SDD)—is progressing on track, the program office is not across the finish line just yet. The JPO and manufacturer Lockheed Martin still are working to finish SDD and operational testing of the 3F load. Lockheed is hoping to finish SDD by the end of the year.

After SDD is complete, the program will move into its final test phase, called initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E). The Pentagon’s top weapons- tester has warned that IOT&E will not start until late 2018 or early 2019, unless the Pentagon decides to start the test phase without “significant aspects” of full 3F capability, a spokesman for the director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E) told Aviation Week last year.

Once DOT&E signs off on the program, the Pentagon still must upgrade hundreds of aircraft from earlier production lots to the final version, including fixes to various technological issues found during testing. Among others, the ongoing upgrades to the current fleet include a series of modifications to the F-35’s escape system that allow lightweight pilots to fly the aircraft...

By the early 2020s, more than 100 F-35s will be in the Asia-Pacific region, including 42 operated by Japan and 40 by South Korea, along with forward deployments by the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. Eielson AFB, Alaska, will receive its first F-35A squadron in 2020 [emphasis added].

The influx of F-35s to the Pacific is a strong show of U.S. military might as tensions run high over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program...
http://aviationweek.com/aviation-week-space-technology/f-35-development-inches-closer-finish-line

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Apple-ization of F-35?

New F-35 Roadmap Would Roll Out Updates Like iPhone

The F-35 program office is seeking to restructure the way it delivers new software capabilities to the fleet, weighing a more fluid strategy not unlike the way iPhone app developers roll out new updates.

But it remains to be seen whether such a plan would speed up follow-on development and fixes to existing software bugs, or merely kick the can down the road.

“Envision in your head: the pilot jumps in a jet, fires it up, the panoramic cockpit display comes up,” said Vice Adm. Mat Winter, F-35 program executive officer, during an event Sept. 6. “Envision a little window that pops up that says, ‘Your latest [electro-optical distributed aperture system] software update is ready for download: yes or no?’ Similar to what you do on your smart phone.”

This new strategy will allow the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) to move ahead with follow-on development while still fixing software “deficiencies” that are less urgent to resolve, Winter said.

The program office already has a long list of these deficiencies to resolve—generally minor software bugs that cause, for example, the synthetic aperture radar to take five seconds instead of three seconds to refresh—and expects to find more as testers wrap up work on the final Block 3F software load. But some of the deficiencies may not need to be fixed for the warfighter to field the capability, Winter said.

“This is a very complex system and we expect deficiencies, so the question is, is the deficiency at such a severity that the warfighter can not go take this capability and go fight the fight?” Winter said.

The program office and Lockheed Martin hope to wrap up testing of 3F, which promises to give the F-35 its final combat capability including a full suite of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, and deliver it to the warfighter by the end of this calendar year.

But even after the F-35’s development period, called System Design and Development (SDD) is officially done, the aircraft still must go through its formal test period, called initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) [emphasis added]. During this phase, testers may find still more deficiencies that the program office will have to fix...
http://aviationweek.com/defense/new-f-35-roadmap-would-roll-out-updates-iphone

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Swiss re-doing fighter competition (moving faster than we are for RCAF), F-35 a likely contender:

Swiss considering F-35 amid plan for 40 new jets
Swiss authorities are relaunching their fighter acquisition programme since the 2014 referendum scuppered the last effort

On 6 September, Swiss Defence Minister Guy Parmelin presented the Bundesrat (the Swiss Governmental Ministerial Council) with a proposal for the complete replacement of the Swiss Air Force's (SwAF's) 26 F-5E/Fs and 31 F/A-18C/Ds.

The plan foresees the replacement of both aircraft types to begin in 2023 [emphasis added], in addition to the SwAF's current 35mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft artillery and Rapier surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) with a new ground based air defence system (known as Bodengestützte Luftverteidigung or BODLUV).

While a SwAF evaluation commission for the new combat aircraft – currently dubbed the NKF (Neues Kampfflugzeug) – have met with external experts 14 times since April 2016, several approaches to the acquisition remain under deliberation.

An internal 200-page report seen by Defence IQ seems to support an option of 30 new combat aircraft plus the GBAD system. However, Parmelin has pushed instead for a “more realistic” solution, aimed at appeasing both military and political parties. The most expensive option meanwhile cited 55-70 fighters and long-range SAMs for around $15-18bn.

The Bundesrat reportedly agreed on the general lines of Parmelin’s option but a majority did not initially agree with the longer-term financial implications. Ministers asked Parmelin for more detailed calculations of the budget impact, given that spending will require an additional $1bn per year from 2023 to 2032 and will no doubt impact the procurement plan already approved for the rest of the Swiss Armed Forces.

A government spokesman said the Bundesrat would probably decide later this year on the launch date for a Request for Proposals (RFP) providing it receives a satisfactory answer to its questions.

According to the MoD, the RFP will be sent to Saab for the Gripen-E/F; Airbus for Typhoon (probably with the Tranche 3 with active electronically scanned array radar); Dassault for Rafale (probably the F4 version); Boeing for the F-18E/F (probably the Super Hornet Advanced) and Lockheed Martin for the F-35...
https://www.defenceiq.com/news/swiss-considering-f-35-amid-plan-for-40-new-jets

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

How to save money when program not completely out of woods:

US considers non-combat-rated subset of F-35 fleet

Scores of US-owned Lockheed Martin F-35s would remain in the fleet with a software operating system rated below combat-grade under one of several cost-saving proposals under review by the Joint Programme Office.

Delays during the development stage caused Lockheed to deliver more than 108 aircraft with Block 2B software. Each fighter requires 150-160 modifications to be raised to the combat-rated Block 3 standard, says Vice Adm Matt Winter, the F-35’s programme executive.

The looming modification bills are threatening to suck resources from a looming production ramp-up with more than 900 aircraft projected for delivery over the next five years, Winter says.

“We’re looking at solution spaces to give our warfighters options,” Winter says.

One of those options is to keep a subset of the F-35 fleet at the Block 2B software standard. It would follow a practice used on the Lockheed F-22 programme, which has about 30 fighters maintained at Block 20 for training missions and about 150 fighters using the go-to-war Block 30/35 standard.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/us-considers-non-combat-rated-subset-of-f-35-fleet-441248/

Mark
Ottawa