F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Actually, Colin, at 920 feet and 65,000 tons, the UK flat tops (QUEEN ELIZABETH class) are about the same size as the American Forestall class - the first of the "super-carriers".

They are much larger than the French Charles de Gaulle. They would have no problem operating as ordinary carriers, you just need to get rid of the ramp, add catapults and set up arrester wires. The reason this was not done is a matter of (1) cost of such extra equipment; (2) the fact that at the time of designing the ship, catapults were steam driven only and therefore you would have to add a boiler and steam system; and (3) the fact that using STOVL as opposed to CATOBAR makes flight deck operations a lot simpler, with less demand of personnel.

I believe that the plan is to modify the second into a CATOBAR, now that emals catapults are available, or to modify both of them into CATOBAR at some future point in time.

I am sure that part of the decision to go STOVL at first came from the fact that when the UK started designing them, they were promised F-35B would be available in sufficient numbers by the time they were ready for sea. That didn't quite pan out.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Oldgateboatdriver:

No UK plans to make new carriers CATOBAR/EMALS capable; earlier said would do and get F-35C vice F-35B but plan abandoned for costs in 2012:
http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/f-35b-the-right-choice-and-the-only-choice-for-the-royal-navy/

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-18008171

UK only firm so far on 48 F-35Bs but total F-35 commitment still officially 138--RAF would no doubt like to get a bunch of F-35As:
http://www.janes.com/article/72277/uk-to-decide-on-future-f-35-variant-at-appropriate-time

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Luftwaffe head effectively pro-F-35--someday a 6th-gen fighter in co-operation with France?

Tornado Replacement Must Be Fifth Generation: German Air Force Chief

The German military needs a "fifth-generation" replacement for its Tornado fighter jets that is hard to detect on enemy radars and can strike targets from a great distance, the chief of staff of the air force said on Wednesday.

Lieutenant General Karl Muellner's comments are his clearest public statements to date on the Tornado replacement program. They indicate a preference for Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet, the only Western aircraft that meets those requirements.

The air force last month issued a formal request for information about the F-35, as well as three other jets: the F-15 and F/A-18E/F, both built by Boeing Co, and the European Eurofighter Typhoon.

Germany is kicking off the process of replacing its 85 Tornado jets, which will go out of service around 2030.

The program could be worth billions of euros for the winning bidder in coming years.

Muellner told Reuters Germany would need to buy an off-the-shelf replacement that could enter service around 2025 to facilitate a smooth transition with the Tornado, noting that did not leave enough time to develop a unique solution...
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/11/08/business/08reuters-germany-fighter.html?_r=0

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

This sovereignty issue is pretty sticky:

​DUBAI: Foreign F-35 partners work up interim solution for ALIS sovereignty concerns

Australia expects to field a mature solution to address sovereignty concerns prompted by Lockheed Martin’s autonomic logistics information system (ALIS) by 2020, the Royal Australian Air Force’s head of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme tells FlightGlobal.

Australia and other F-35 partners are close to developing a system that will segregate their aircraft from the normal flow of data going to ALIS, as well as separate facilities to develop their own mission data files to protect operational sovereignty.

Lockheed’s ALIS keeps data on the fifth-generation fighter’s health monitoring systems, training and flight logs, but also functions as a global data hub that orders parts and schedules training. Following each flight, ALIS is supposed to automatically transmit information back to Lockheed’s ALIS hub in Fort Worth, Texas, which has caused concern for foreign partners who worry the automated data stream violates their sovereignty.

Each foreign F-35 partner is coming up with its own solution that will manage the flow of information between individual nations and industry, Air Vice Marshal Leigh Gordon said at the annual Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference this week.

“Ultimately, there will be a standard gateway off of the programme that we can all work with, but in the interim we’re thinking for each nation to bring a gateway along and have that integrated,” he tells FlightGlobal. “We expect the gateway will allow us to inspect and decide when information gets passed.”

While Australia plans to introduce the mature solution between its first F-35 delivery in 2018 and initial operational capability in 2020, the fielding timeline will vary by individual nation and depend on which communications networks they use, Gordon says.

A spokeswoman for the Italian air force tells FlightGlobal that by the end of this year an Italian firm will implement a hardware filter for the ALIS data traffic, followed by an enhanced software solution in 2018. The solution will automatically block messages and data the country does not wish to send, the spokeswoman says. Each partner is able to modify its JSF system to protect its sovereign data, she adds.

“Italy, in [this] specific case, wants to preserve its sovereignty on some information, avoiding any unnecessary disclosure,” she says. “In order to do so, like other partners do, Italy took some actions to grant an effective use of the weapon system, without disclosing some data that are deemed sensible.”

Italy, like other F-35 partner nations, has established a "national laboratory" in co-operation with Norway at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The Norway Italy Reprogramming Laboratory manages mission data files in a segregated “Italian Eyes Only” environment, the spokeswoman says. Likewise Gordon says Australia is setting up a laboratory to manage its mission data files.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/dubai-foreign-f-35-partners-work-up-interim-soluti-443146/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Spencer100]

Norway testing the drag chute

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/188736/f_35a-testis-for-norwegian-drag-chute-underway-in-alaska.html

 

[MarkOttawa]

Longish read--The problems of outnumbered F-35s and F-22 when faced with enemy swarm, with some fighters getting in close after BVR phase of engagement:

Why the F-22 and F-35 Could Be the U.S. Military's Two Biggest Mistakes Ever
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/why-the-f-22-f-35-could-be-the-us-militarys-two-biggest-23428

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Further to this post,
https://milnet.ca/forums/threads/22809/post-1505679.html#msg1505679

looks like Rafale out of running for new Belgian fighter--F-35A would seem favorite as Dutch are replacing (not one-for-one!) their F-16s with it:

Belgium Rejects French Lobbying for Rafale Fighters, Sticks to Tender Process

Belgium has rejected French offer of Rafale fighter jets for the country’s bid to replace aging F-16 fighter jets.

“The French government already promised an economic return of 4 billion, there is now even 20 billion. This is mainly proof that the lobby machine is running at full speed, Minister of Defense Steven Vandeput (N-VA party) was quoted as saying by De Standaard, Belgian news daily Thursday.

'The French offer is too good to be true. The lobbying is running at full speed that is clear now. But we have opted for a straightforward and objective method via the RfGP (Request for Government Proposal, tender through the authorities). It’s a pity that France is taking a different route. The claims that their offer did not fit within it is simply incorrect. The criteria are clear. Period,” Vandeput said.

Steven Vandeput sees no solution to the replacement of the F-16 in the French proposal. It is best to talk about a collaboration for a new aircraft, but the deadline of 2023, when the first F-16s are taken out of circulation, is therefore unachievable.

Belgium had called for tenders in March to replace its ageing fleet of 34 F-16 fighter aircraft for an estimated $4.2 billion. Lockheed Martin and Eurofighter have submitted an official bid for the program but Dassault has not offered a bid.

The French defense minister, Florence Parly had earlier this month, offered technology and economic partnerships with Belgium, if it is ready to buy Rafale fighter jets.
http://www.defenseworld.net/news/21658/Belgium_Rejects_French_Lobbying_for_Rafale_Fighters__Sticks_to_Tender_Process#.WkalfzdG2M9

Mark
Ottawa

 

[SeaKingTacco]

IMHO, the Dutch and Belgians will buy as a block as they, essentially share air sovereignty now.

What one buys, so will the other.

 

[dimsum]

IMHO, the Dutch and Belgians will buy as a block as they, essentially share air sovereignty now.

Kind of like a NORAD thing?

 

[PuckChaser]

Dutch have already purchased 8 F-35As and confirmed it as the replacement for their F-16s. Belgium will likely run a competition and find out what everyone else already knows, Typhoon, Rafale and the like can't hold a candle to it.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Kind of like a NORAD thing?

It is a BENELUX thing, but under the NATO umbrella, as I understand it.

 

[Rifleman62]

More info on the the F-35 stealth fighter, described by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “far from working,”

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a14512106/the-f-35-could-be-headed-into-combat-in-2018/

The F-35 Could Be Headed Into Combat in 2018 - Kyle Mizokami - 28 Dec 17
The Marine Corps is sending the F-35 to the Pacific and Middle East.

The America’s newest fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, might finally see combat in 2018. According to the Marine Corps Times, the U.S. Marine Corps is sending the jet on two overseas patrols next year, to the Middle East and the Pacific. The Middle Eastern tour could see the jet sent into combat over a number of regional conflicts the United States is currently embroiled in.

The Marines are sending detachments of F-35Bs on two Marine Expeditionary Unit cruises, with the Okinawa, Japan-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit on the USS Wasp and the West Coast-based 13th MEU on the USS Essex. USS Wasp will be headed into the Asia-Pacific, where one possible stop is off the coast of North Korea. USS Essex will be headed to the Middle East where it could visit Syria/Iraq, Libya, and Yemen. U.S. aircraft have conducted airstrikes over all three areas, and the F-35Bs of the 13th MEU could conduct some of their own.

Marine Expeditionary Units are unique self-contained combat units capable of air and ground missions that travel in amphibious task forces. A typical MEU consists of approximately 2,200 marines and sailors and is centered around a marine infantry battalion reinforced with tanks, light armored vehicles, artillery, engineering, communications, medical, and logistics support units. A MEU also typically embarks up to 30 aircraft, including F-35s, MV-22 Ospreys, CH-53 Sea Stallions, AH-1Z attack helicopters, and UH-1Y Huey utility aircraft. Previously, MEUs embarked about six AV-8B Harrier jump jets per cruise, and it’s likely each will sport the same number of F-35Bs.

Aside from scheduled training missions, MEUs sometimes have no agenda at all other than to provide a roving, battalion-sized rapid-reaction force capable of showing the flag, amphibious assaults, raids, conventional and unconventional land warfare operations, rescues of downed pilots, evacuating Americans from crisis areas, and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief missions. MEUs are basically packages of heavily armed Marines that cruise around in amphibious ships for months at a time looking for trouble.

The Marines declared its F-35B jets initial operational capability in 2015, meaning the aircraft were capable of at least some of the range of combat missions the aircraft will eventually be capable of. For ground attack missions, the F-35B is armed with the 1,000 pound GBU-32 satellite-guided Joint Directed Attack Munition (JDAM) and the 500 pound GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb. For air combat, it carries AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missiles.

Read more at Marine Corps Times

 

[MarkOttawa]

Training when short of pilots (RCAF?):

Hey, Siri, How Do You Fly An F-35?

As the U.S. Air Force faces a growing pilot shortage, a small team of airmen is looking to revolutionize pilot training by substituting virtual reality for flying time and supplementing human instructors with artificial intelligence (AI).

Starting in February, a class of 20 students—15 officers and five enlisted airmen—will begin an experimental pilot training course developed by Lt. Col. Eric Frahm and a small team at the Air Force’s Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office. The aim is to pin wings on aviators’ chests in six months, or just half the time allotted in the Air Force’s traditional syllabus, Frahm told Aviation Week in a December interview.

Study will put an AI instructor in the cockpit that can give students verbal feedback

The new approach could increase pilot production by two-thirds, using half the instructors

Experiment could help stem USAF’s growing pilot shortage

The first phase of the study will focus on replacing aircraft sorties with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) simulators—think ordinary desktop computers and virtual reality (VR) headsets “you can buy at Best Buy” combined with commercially available computer software such as X-Plane flight simulators. By the final phase, Frahm hopes to introduce AI “instructors” that use speech-recognition technology to provide verbal feedback to students during flight.

If successful, the study has the potential to transform the way the Air Force does pilot training, and perhaps help stem the acute shortage the service is currently facing. The Air Force is fighting to ramp up pilot production to 1,400 a year, but even this will not be enough to meet future requirements as experienced aviators leave the service in droves (AW&ST Oct. 2-15, 2017, p. 59).

By leveraging VR and AI technology, Frahm believes the Air Force stands to increase pilot production capacity by two-thirds, using just half the instructors...
http://aviationweek.com/defense/hey-siri-how-do-you-fly-f-35

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Loachman]

Does the AI technology come with a Fear, Sarcasm, and Ridicule (the Principles of Instruction) subroutine?

 

[MarkOttawa]

Still very much not out of the woods:

Pentagon ‘can't afford the sustainment costs‘ on F-35, Lord says

Sustainment costs on the F-35 are poised to become unaffordable, and that’s a big challenge for Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s newly christened undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.

As a result, Lord is focused on testing new business and data processes on the fifth-generation stealth fighter, including leveraging big data analytics for sustainment purposes.

“Right now, we can’t afford the sustainment costs we have on the F-35. And we’re committed to changing that,” Lord told reporters at a Jan. 31 roundtable, adding that the plane is the “most significant” program in the Department of Defense.

The A&S head described the jet as an “awesome aircraft” in all three of its variants, but acknowledged that “the threat is rapidly evolving and we want to make sure we get the development work done to make sure by 2025” that there is new capability on the plane.

It’s not the first warning on F-35 sustainment costs in recent weeks. On Jan. 18, Will Roper, the nominee to be for Air Force acquisition chief, said he was “deeply concerned” about sustainment on the F-35, saying it would be one of the first things he would tackle if confirmed.



With just over 250 joint strike fighters absorbed into the fleet already, the Defense Department is experiencing a number of problems sustaining the aircraft. In an October report, the Government Accountability Office laid out numerous challenges, including long maintenance times for parts, a spare parts shortage and delayed updates to the F-35’s logistics system.

After the report was released, the F-35 joint program office stated that although it was factually accurate based on the data gathered at the time, it “does not fully account for the critical work the F-35 sustainment team has led over the past several months to accelerate depot capability and capacity, implement solutions to increase spare parts and reduce overall sustainment costs.”..
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/02/01/pentagon-cant-afford-the-sustainment-costs-on-f-35-lord-says/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Good2Golf]

“not out of the woods yet” and “this will be the program of record for the next 30 years” are not mutually exclusive concepts. :nod:

Regards
G2G

 

[OldSolduer]

“not out of the woods yet” and “this will be the program of record for the next 30 years” are not mutually exclusive concepts. :nod:

Regards
G2G

Yes, how’s the replacement for the Sea Kings going?
This is just as bad.

 

[Good2Golf]

The all too sad answer is: “Just as badly as the Government is willing to accept on behalf of the Canadian people.”

:not-again:

 

[Colin Parkinson]

How does the sustainment cost for a F35 differ than a F-15/F-16/F-18? What makes those costs unique, other than it's a brandnew airplane and the learning curve presently is steep.

 

[Brasidas]

How does the sustainment cost for a F35 differ than a F-15/F-16/F-18? What makes those costs unique, other than it's a brandnew airplane and the learning curve presently is steep.

More complicated systems and overly optimistic assumptions beforehand?

Downtime for lack of spares and the presumable waste of rushing critical replacements seems to be suggested in the text.