F-35 Joint Strike Fighter News, Videos and pics Thread

[Air Force Brat]

According a link on CJDBY, Israel already used one of its two F-35s in combat against targets in Gaza.

Watch this space.

Naaawwwwhh! according to Michael Gilmore, the F-35 won't even fly, you'd have to carry it into battle on your back-----didn't happen!

 

[Jura The idiot]

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Israelis F-35 carried out 30 combat sorties against targets in Gaza.

I willingly suspended my disbelief, found:
"On June 22, 2016, the Israeli Air Force

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at a ceremony at the Fort Worth, Texas, F-35 factory." at the official site
Israel's 5th Generation Fighter

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but Gaza doesn't seem to have been bombed enough times since then, at least according to

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[Jeff Head]

I do not believe for an instant that the Israelis committed any F-35 to conflict...particularly in Gaza, but really not anywhere yet.

They have quite a while to build up trained pilots, policy and procedures fro using the new aircraft, etc., etc.

Not credible in the least.

Their F-16s or other attack aircraft would have sufficed easily and not put such a critical new asset in harm's way when they have not even had time to work out its capabilities, pilot training, and integration yet.

 

[Air Force Brat]

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Israelis F-35 carried out 30 combat sorties against targets in Gaza.

Absolutely, Positively did NOT HAPPEN! anyone with an idea of the procurement process of fighter aircraft "KNOWS" this could NOT happen. Further more, the Israeli's though they are our absolute "bosom buddies" will not be running the initial combat ops with our F-35, or theirs for that matter.

Now they will be doing testing, and they will get a very special airplane dedicated to qualifying all their KOOL weapons on the F-35, and that airplane will get lots of use, with every weapon under the sun in test, but it is NOT a dedicated war-fighter LOL, give me a break??? please??? BRAT

That airplane will be based in Israel, and it will be "dedicated" to weapons testing and integration, I can't remember the source, but if you poke about you will find it.

Some Goofy character made that story up, likely to discredit either the Israeli's or the US, but its is a KOOL idea, to take a new bird and blow up bad guys, but this whole mess in the Holy Land, its just bad Ju-Ju, making sure God's people on both sides have NO peace.

 

[Jeff Head]

Absolutely, Positively did NOT HAPPEN! anyone with an idea of the procurement process of fighter aircraft "KNOWS" this could NOT happen. Further more, the Israeli's though they are our absolute "bosom buddies" will not be running the initial combat ops with our F-35, or theirs for that matter.

Now they will be doing testing, and they will get a very special airplane dedicated to qualifying all their KOOL weapons on the F-35, and that airplane will get lots of use, with every weapon under the sun in test, but it is NOT a dedicated war-fighter LOL, give me a break??? please??? BRAT

Amen to every bit of that. Spot on.

 

[FORBIN]

No comments about F-35I used for combat.
The 2 first delivered in 12/2016 to Sqn 140 based to Nevatim...

 

[Jura The idiot]

interestingly F-35 exit strategy: Canada could pay about $313M to pull out of jet program, defence documents show

Canada could withdraw from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program on short notice by paying a little more than $300 million U.S., according to an analysis prepared by the defence department soon after the Liberals won the federal election.

The government could leave after only 90 days’ notice, although it would still need to pay the remaining fees the previous Conservative government committed to the F-35 program, according to the Department of National Defence documents obtained by Postmedia.

The analysis was produced four days after the election.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power, pledging the Liberals would not buy the F-35, an aircraft he said was unnecessary for Canada’s needs and too expensive.

Although a Liberal government originally signed on to a research and development program for the plane, the Conservatives significantly expanded that commitment.

In 2006, Canada agreed to participate as a partner at a cost of US$551 million, according to the DND analysis. That did not commit the government to buying the aircraft, although it provided inside data about the project and a chance for domestic aerospace firms to bid on F-35 work.

“Canada has not signed a contract and can pull out by providing a 90-day written notification to other participating nations,” the analysis prepared for Deputy Minister John Forster pointed out.

“Canada’s liability would be no greater than US$346.7 million” – the difference between what it had already contributed and what was remaining of the original US$551 million commitment.

Since the analysis was produced, the Liberal government has paid another US$33 million.

The analysis noted Ottawa had also signed a separate memorandum of understanding with F-35 builder Lockheed Martin.

Under that commitment, Lockheed Martin provided F-35 work to Canadian firms on the understanding the Canadian government would eventually buy 65 of the jets.

If Canada decided not to proceed with the purchase, Lockheed Martin would not be obliged to employ domestic firms, the DND analysis noted.

“There is a risk that some contacts would not be renewed,” it added.

The Liberal government is expected to decide within months how to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18 aircraft.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has talked about a fair and open competition for a new fighter jet. Despite Trudeau’s pledge that Canada will not buy the F-35, Lockheed Martin, with other aircraft firms, recently submitted information about their planes to the government.

“It looks like we’re being included so we look forward to competing on that basis,” Jack Crisler, one of Lockheed Martin’s senior F35 officials, recently told Postmedia.

The stealth fighter became a political nightmare for the Conservative government after it agreed to buy the planes. The F-35 has been plagued with technology problems and U.S. lawmakers have complained about its cost.

In 2012, Auditor General Michael Ferguson issued a report that concluded Canadian defence officials withheld key information from Parliament about the proposed purchase, underestimated costs and did not follow proper procurement rules.

In June, Lockheed Martin almost saw its hopes of selling planes to Canada evaporate. Ottawa was close to moving on an interim purchase of Super Hornet jets from Boeing and Trudeau claimed the F-35 “does not work and is far from working.”

In response, Lockheed Martin warned Canadian companies who had F-35 contracts would suffer. After that, plans for a Super Hornet interim deal seemed to disappear.

The U.S. Air Force says the F-35 is combat ready although critics say much work still needs to be done on the aircraft. Two F-35s recently visited Canada for the first time at the airshow in Abbotsford, B.C.

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[Jura The idiot]

the official Story Number: NNS160826-12Release Date: 8/26/2016 10:57:00 AM
First Fleet F35-C Carrier Qualifications, Final Round of Testing Conducted at Sea

The jet blast from seven F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft only added to the already intense summer heat and humidity on the flight deck of USS George Washington (CVN 73), Aug. 15, where the third and final round of at-sea developmental testing, or DT-III, was underway about 100 miles offshore from Virginia.

During the 20-day testing period, which is set to conclude Sept. 1, objectives included external symmetric and asymmetric weapons loadings; launches and recoveries at maximum weight; approach handling qualities; landing systems certification; and engine logistics.

In addition to phase three of shipboard developmental testing, jet after jet thundered on and off the deck as 12 instructors and pilots from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 101, out of Eglin AFB in Florida, completed the Navy's first fleet carrier qualifications, with each pilot knocking out two touch-and-goes and 10 arrested landings.

"The work we did [during the two previous testing phases at sea] directly fed what VFA-101 was able to come out and do today," explained Tom Briggs, lead flight test engineer with the F-35 Lightning II Integrated Test Force (ITF) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and recipient of the 2015 Department of the Navy Lead Tester of the Year award. "For those of us involved in the program for quite a while, it was incredibly gratifying to see them come out and use that work to start making this aircraft real and get it out to the fleet."

Cmdr. Ted "Dutch" Dyckman, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 test pilot, landing signal officer, and squadron operations officer at Pax River, started out flying F/A-18 Hornets, moved to F/A-18 Super Hornets, and now flies the F-35C. This was his third ship trip and 50th trap -- and he has a definite favorite.

"I prefer the F-35," he said. "It's easy to fly, autopilot is nice, cockpit has good visibility, and mission systems make it easy to do your task."

One of the most difficult and hazardous tasks in naval aviation is landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier, something now made simpler by Delta Flight Path. Developed by Lockheed Martin after a lot of crosstalk and technology sharing with NAVAIR personnel, the semi-automated landing mode significantly helps lower a pilot's workload task.

"The control laws allow aircraft to fly a commanded glide slope," Dyckman said. "Before, you had to manually fly that path through the air. Now, at the push of a button, the airplane will tip over and fly that path. If I have a good approach behind ship, I can push one button. If there are deviations, I can make a correction. Other than that, I may not touch the stick at all during the approach, from the start until touchdown. Coming to the ship is as easy as landing on an airfield now and that enables us to spend less time training guys to land on the ship."

Other testing involved improved nighttime visibility for the aircraft's third generation helmet, which displays symbology right on the pilot's visor.

"I don't have to look down for a piece of info on one display, then to another display and correlate it all in my head; everything appears in the helmet," Dyckman said. "When I look out, even if I'm looking away from where I'm going, I can see my target information, airspeed, altitude, threats. With this airplane, I basically have a display with my aircraft in the center and it presents information for situational awareness."

Test pilot Lt. Cmdr. Daniel "Tonto" Kitts, officer in charge of the VX-23 test detachment, noted three things about the F-35C that excite him.

"The ability to bring the aircraft back aboard the ship safely the first time, every time for the most junior pilot to the most senior is one of its major advantages," Kitts said. "Also, the incorporation of its mission systems to the pilot and the fusion of that information is really going to make it a lethal tactical platform. Lastly, its ability to share that information with other assets in the fleet is going to help build the picture for the whole carrier strike group. Not to mention, we're bringing a stealthy airplane to the carrier decks for the first time."

DT-III was an incremental buildup on five years of work from the Pax River ITF team, beginning with the first aircraft's initial onshore catapult and arresting gear testing and ending with the hundreds of operational cats and traps that recently took place aboard Washington. Having completed the gross weights and load up testing necessary to provide the fleet with a full launch and recovery bulletin, it was the final phase of testing.

"This is the last time we're coming to a carrier for F-35 testing and support for Navy IOC (initial operational capability)," explained Cmdr. J. Ryan Murphy, director of Test and Evaluation/F-35 Naval Variants. "It was satisfying to watch [VFA-101] start to utilize the aircraft. After all, that's the point of all the years of work -- to equip and empower the fleet with the F-35C."

The F-35C, the Navy carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, conducted its first shipboard test flights in November 2014 aboard USS Nimitz and follow-on developmental testing aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in October 2015. Engineered for a carrier, its 51-foot wingspan is larger than the Air Force's F-35A and Marine Corps' F-35B short take-off-and-landing variants.

"It's going to be a viable aircraft that's going to do what it's been designed to do," Briggs said.

It is expected the Navy will declare initial operational capability in 2018.

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[FORBIN]

Now " naysayers "
Pentagon's top weapons tester doubts F-35A capabilities

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So software, electronic very complex ! to udapte remains an important number of fix for these bugs but engine worck, airframe, never see problem with stealth coating.
.

Pentagon's top weapons tester doubts F-35A capabilities

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According the pics seems a great difference between report and test, pics...

Gilmore in last year's DOT&E made it sound like F-35 couldn't possibly accomplish more than 3 weapon tests x month. They completed 25.

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...

GBU-31 and 39

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[Jura The idiot]

According the pics seems a great difference between report and test, pics...

absolutely, I'm waiting for the full text of the August 9 memo (so far it was only "obtained by Bloomberg News":
Lockheed’s F-35 Still Falls Short, Pentagon’s Tester Says

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