The RCAF's Next Generation Fighter (CF-188 Replacement)

[armrdsoul77]

F35's don't appear to be aging very well.

Availability Rates of F-35s, by Age​

Percent

"As F-35s have aged, their availability and use have decreased, CBO finds. The availability and use of F-35s have been lower, in some cases much lower, than those of other fighter aircraft of the same age. For example, the average availability rate of a 7-year-old F-35A has been about the same as that of a 36-year-old F-16C/D and a 17-year-old F-22. "

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61482

​

 

[markppcli]

F35's don't appear to be aging very well.

Availability Rates of F-35s, by Age​

PercentView attachment 102458

"As F-35s have aged, their availability and use have decreased, CBO finds. The availability and use of F-35s have been lower, in some cases much lower, than those of other fighter aircraft of the same age. For example, the average availability rate of a 7-year-old F-35A has been about the same as that of a 36-year-old F-16C/D and a 17-year-old F-22. "

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61482

​

Internal vs external equipment. If an F16s pod breaks thats not part of the F16, on an F35 it is.

 

[PrairieFella]

Internal vs external equipment. If an F16s pod breaks thats not part of the F16, on an F35 it is.

Thats a bit of a distinction without a difference isnt it? If something internal breaks on a F35 I consider it broken. I want the RCAF flying CF35s as much as the next guy but I think we would be remiss to hand-wave the troubling maintenance issues they seem to be having - especially considering those issues are coming from a military who's new budget is like 60% of our GDP.

 

[ytz]

The government report is based upon data collected by bean counters. Full mission means that the aircraft is readied to the point that it can perform any mission that it was purchased to perform. For instance, if the mission today is to attack a ground target but the ground tracking mode of the radar is offline then park it.

Most of our day to day in the RCAF is not FMC. That's most air forces actually. This is why that stat sounds sensational to anybody in blue.

What really matters is how many times they are cancelling missions on the board because the aircraft is u/s in a manner which violates the MEL (Minimum Equipment List) or is not PMC for said mission code. The Americans are flying jets with no radars because you can still use that bird for say crew currency. You don't need the radar to shoot approaches and touch and gos for your 30 day.