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

[Jura The idiot]

according to NavalToday (dated July 17, 2017) US Navy, Marine Corps anticipate F-35B shipboard deployment

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps leaders gathered in Pearl Harbor last month for the “Joint Strike Fighter Sustainment Summit” in anticipation of the first shipboard deployment of the F-35B Lightning II.

The attendees focused on planning and preparing the logistical support for the F-35B Lightning II’s first deployment scheduled to happen within the next year.

“The summit was primarily built to maximize communication, elevate problems, and arrive at solutions. This aircraft has a unique maintenance and support structure, and it is unlike any aviation weapon system presently in the Navy and Marine Corps inventories,” said Palmer, U.S. Pacific Fleet director of logistics, fleet supply and ordnance.

According to Palmer, deploying the F-35B will require focused efforts by all stakeholders to ensure logistics resources are available to support the Fleet introduction to include funding, spares, tools, support equipment, information systems support, and training.

“The aircraft and engine are large and require keen planning for hangar and flight deck spotting & storage. The best strategy for overcoming the Joint Strike Fighter roll-out challenge is to engage in continuous communications across all stakeholders,” Palmer added.

After reaching initial operational capability, 10 F-35Bs were delivered to the fleet.

“The Marine Corps has been successfully operating the F-35B Lightning II in the western Pacific for almost 7 months now with VMFA-121 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan,” said Brig. Gen. Brian C. Cavanaugh, deputy commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific. “Next year, we will make the first shipboard deployment for the squadron as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit. The F-35B is a tremendous upgrade from the legacy AV-8B and these new capabilities will be demonstrated in future operations.”

The aircraft is a short takeoff, vertical landing (STOVL) variant, and is the world’s first supersonic STOVL stealth aircraft. It’s designed to operate from austere bases and a range of air-capable ships near front-line combat zones. It can also take off and land conventionally from longer runways on major bases. The F-35B will replace the AV-8B Harrier and F/A-18 Hornet.

source:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[Jeff Head]

according to NavalToday (dated July 17, 2017) US Navy, Marine Corps anticipate F-35B shipboard deploymentsource:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Great news.

The US Navy will have them on the LHDs and then soon on America LHA too...and then the US and the UK will embark them on the QE and POW.

Great news.

Then, a couple of years from now, we will see them start going with the F-35C aboard the Nimitz class and then the Ford class too.

 

[bd popeye]

My dearest Brother in the Lord and friend forever! I am a much greater skeptic than you will ever be,,,,,,,, but the "ignorant little naysayer, bean-counters are first politicians, and then financial geniuses, (just ask them).

Your faithful brother in Christ, and Friend is a pilot/mechanic/aviation historian and very shrewd judge of character, in aircraft and people! (take a look, at whom I look up to on SDF???)

I am a very proud American, because there never has been, nor will there ever be, another place on this earth, and in this creation, where ALL men are accorded the honor, freedom, and wherewithal to reach their God Given Potential, it was and will continue to be a Christian Nation!

Our loving God is in the process even now of judging us, and He is Just and Righteous, and His Son, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is no doubt broken hearted that we as Americans have hardened our hearts, and turned our backs on Him, and His gracious blessing of abundance.

Having said that, I love and honor others, and respect their cultures and beliefs, unless they are anti-Christian, now back to your concern???

I will do all in my Power to create and preserve this greatest nation on the planet! that includes cleaning out my own savings account to buy they tools we need to defend our country and our freedom!

Lockmart has a faithful history of bringing us the very best,,,, ie, C-130, F-22, and now the F-35! If it were in my power??? I would restart a Raptor upgrade today, and build a few more F-35s until Raptor production was firmly re-established, the Raptor is a vastly superior aircraft...

So to suggest that your faithful correspondent was in-capable of making a sound judgement, and to base your own judgements on people who are politicians first, or at best selling magazine articles??? sells your old AFB short, but hey even the "Honey Badger" underestimates my pure genious every day, and I still love her and take great care of her. LOL

That my friend is why I NEVER make any judgements or pro-nouncements about Naval matters other than aviation related! don't doubt the brat!

......Amen....

 

[Jura The idiot]

I now watched

Published on Jul 17, 2017
RAF Wing Commander Jim Beck is one of the UK’s most experienced F-35 Lightning pilots. He talks about the future of the F-35B Lightning aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth.

shows just animations

 

[Air Force Brat]

......Amen....

Thanks BD, and I do love all you guys,,, its like having a room full of experienced, knowledgeable teachers and advisors, all gathered round, planning to "win the peace"! even our brothers on the other team? give us insight into their culture and their concerns, and that has indeed been an eye-opener.

and I pray that the Good Lord will continue to watch over and bless each of you, every day, and welcome each of you into HIS eternal Kingdom!

 

[bd popeye]

Thanks BD, and I do love all you guys,,, its like having a room full of experienced, knowledgeable teachers and advisors, all gathered round, planning to "win the peace"! even our brothers on the other team? give us insight into their culture and their concerns, and that has indeed been an eye-opener.

and I pray that the Good Lord will continue to watch over and bless each of you, every day, and welcome each of you into HIS eternal Kingdom!

Thank you ABF...be blessed always...and pray for the USA based upon...

1 Timothy 2:1-4 New King James Version (NKJV)

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, (4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now back on subject..

After all these years of the naysayers the F-35 all variants is here to stay. I saw something in the UK press yesterday bemoaning the fact that the UK had spent $8 billion USD on this aircraft. In my opinion the kinks, warts and cooties will all be sorted out and the F-35 will be a fine flying aircraft for many years to come.

 

[Jura The idiot]

I generally don't post about money below 100m but now I will ... 43m more for materials is what could eat up the profit of 2.1b deal I guess:
Pratt & Whitney Faulted as Biggest F-35 Engine Deal’s Cost Rises

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

• Pentagon says engine hardware is more expensive than planned
• Pratt slow to incorporate saving initiatives, report finds

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

’s Pratt and Whitney unit has been slow to incorporate promised cost savings techniques for the latest and biggest batch of engines to power F-35 jets, the Pentagon’s costliest weapons program, according to a new report.

Pratt is producing 102 engines for the fighters built by

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

under what’s now a $2.1 billion contract, including management, engineering support and spare parts. When it was signed in July 2016, Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, who headed the Defense Department’s F-35 office, said Pratt’s team “has kept their word in delivering on their price reduction commitments.”

One year later, the F-35 office took a different view in its annual Selected Acquisition Report on the program’s progress. It reviewed the schedule and cost status from July 2016 to April of this year, disclosing estimates of $43 million in cumulative cost overruns for materials, which Pratt & Whitney will have to absorb if they persist.

Engine hardware “is costing more than planned,” according to the report, primarily because the contractor’s targets aren’t “achievable today due to delays with incorporating enough engineering changes and affordability initiatives to lower the manufacturing costs,” according to the document obtained by Bloomberg News.

Supply Chain
Pratt & Whitney’s supply chain team also has “been unable to negotiate lower pricing from the supply chain,” the F-35 office added.

Through April, the engine maker was behind on $51 million in work due to late engine hardware deliveries, some quality lapses with engine nozzle parts and other supplier issues, according to the report.

Controlling costs is crucial as the Pentagon plans to increase its budget requests to 77 engines in fiscal 2019 from 74 this year. The number would jump to 99 by 2022. The Pentagon’s annual engine procurement requests are planned to increase to $2 billion by 2022 from $1.6 billion this year.

Pratt & Whitney spokesman Matthew Bates deferred comment on the cost report to the Pentagon. In general, since 2009 when Pratt launched its “War on Cost,” the company has reduced F-35 engine costs “by more than half,” Bates said in an email.

“We continue to focus on implementing engineering design changes and working with our supply chain to further reduce costs, and we expect further cost reduction as the volume from the engine production ramp increases,” Bates said.

Contractor’s Responsibility
Although the report “shows engine hardware is costing more than the contractor planned, those additional costs are not being passed on to taxpayers,” F-35 program office spokesman Joe DellaVedova said in an email. “If Pratt & Whitney falls short on their commitments, the company accepts full responsibility for cost overruns” under its fixed price, incentive fee contract.

The Government Accountability Office said this year in its annual F-35 report that “manufacturing efficiency and quality metrics are improving for Pratt & Whitney. Although some engine aircraft reliability and maintainability metrics are not meeting program expectations, there has been progress in some areas, and there is still time for further improvements.”

The $51 million overrun caused by lagging work is likely to disappear when the contract is completed, DellaVedova said. “Although Pratt & Whitney and its supply chain is delivering late items to their original plan, there is schedule margin and engine deliveries continue to support aircraft requirement dates,” he said.

Even with the troubling early overruns engine cost targets are going down with each successive contract, DellaVedova said.

 

[Jura The idiot]

according to DefenseNews
Clearing the air: F-35s to get upgrade for oxygen generating system over hypoxia concerns

In response to reports of hypoxia-like symptoms experienced by F-35A pilots at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, the program office intends to make changes to the onboard oxygen generation system to optimize the flow of oxygen to those flying the jet.

The modification to the onboard oxygen generation system, or OBOGS, involves refining the algorithm associated with oxygen concentration, an F-35 joint program office spokesperson explained in a statement to Defense News.

“There is no indication the delivered oxygen concentration was a contributor to any of the recent events,” said Brandi Schiff. However, by tweaking the levels of oxygen associated with varying altitudes, the office may be able to help prevent further physiological incidents from happening.

Honeywell, the manufacturer of the F-35’s OBOGS system, will be responsible for designing upgraded firmware as well as a path to retrofit all variants of the joint strike fighter with the new capability, she said.

“Cost estimates are still being developed,” Schiff said. “The current time estimate is 24 months, but the F-35 joint program office, or JPO, is pushing [F-35 prime contractor] Lockheed Martin to accelerate the fielding of this new firmware.”

On June 9, officials at Luke AFB announced that it would pause F-35 flight operations at the base because of five incidents when pilots experienced symptoms similar to hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. Experts from the program office were dispatched to the base, where they conducted testing and analysis for a week without reaching a solid conclusion on what had caused the episodes.

Brook Leonard, commander of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, ultimately made the decision to restart F-35 flight operations on June 21 after implementing several protective measures such as flying the aircraft at lower altitudes and increasing the minimum levels for backup oxygen systems.

Although the issues with the F-35 have been limited to the A models at Luke AFB, finding the root cause of physiological incidents like hypoxia has proved to be a difficult problem for all of the military services across a wide array of aircraft. The U.S. Navy has had little luck discerning the cause of similar symptoms exhibited by T-45 trainers and F/A-18 Hornets. Further complicating the issue is that the symptoms of oxygen deprivation are very similar to other conditions, like having too much oxygen in the blood or oxygen contamination, making it hard to parse whether the blame can be attributed to just one problem.

There has been only one physiological incident at Luke AFB since flights resumed, said Maj. Rebecca Heyse, a spokeswoman for the base. On July 10, a pilot experienced “hypoxia-like” symptoms during a flight, but inspectors were quickly able to find the culprit: an irregular oxygen valve that has since been replaced. The U.S. Air Force views this as an isolated event that is unconnected to the still-unexplained earlier episodes.

Investigation into the physiological events is ongoing, with the JPO, F-35 physiological event team, the U.S. Air Force’s 711 Human Performance Wing and the Navy Medical Research Unit Dayton all engaged in analysis, Schiff said.

The U.S. Air Force and JPO couldn’t rule out a larger, systemic problem with OBOGS in their initial investigations and plan to do further evaluation. For instance, they will take the F-35s involved in the physiological incidents and conduct “extensive testing” to ensure that all OBOGS components were working properly. They also plan to assess whether life support systems like OBOGS are meeting reliability requirements and conduct air quality tests on Luke AFB jets to ensure oxygen is not being contaminated.

Additionally, Schiff noted that the JPO is evaluating “potential improvements and opportunities for implementing additional sensing capability, including redundant oxygen sensors and a suite of air quality sensors.”

A team of officials from the JPO, U.S. Air Force F-35 integration office and 711 Human Performance Wing is set to arrive at Luke AFB on Wednesday to begin an eight-week “heat exhaust study,” Heyse said.

The team will study how the aircraft ramp is set up and assess temperature and air quality data to ensure pilots are not suffering negative effects on the ground before takeoff that could be exacerbated during flight, she said.

source:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[Jura The idiot]

now Officials Say Little About F-35 Helmet Glitch in Night Landing Video
July 19, 2017

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Officials with the Pentagon’s F-35 program office remain tight-lipped about a troubling issue with the

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

‘s helmet night-vision camera that forced a test pilot to land “in a fog” on an amphibious ship last fall.

But they say improvements to the software in the pricey helmet are underway and will be ready for testing this fall.

The problem landing came to light this month, when the Flight Test Safety Committee posted videos from a May workshop in McLean, Virginia to its website. The footage can be found

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

and begins at the 28 minute 30 second mark.

In one of the workshop sessions, Marine Lt. Col. Tom Fields, F-35 government flight test director, showed a short video of the landing in question, which took place during the third and final iteration of shipboard developmental testing for the

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

‘

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

aboard the amphibious assault ship America.

The landing was supposed to test the pilot’s ability to land vertically on the ship in low-light night conditions. But in the footage, the shape of the ship is almost entirely obscured through the helmet display, and the pilot repeatedly swings his head to the right, looking for any familiar landmarks to help him find the designated landing spot.

Erik Gutekunst, a flying qualities engineer who was in the control room for the landing, said in a video interview that he got the “heebie jeebies” recalling the specifics of that night.

“Once [the pilot] got in the hover and had crossed over the spot, it became very clear that the picture he was working with was unsatisfactory for doing any sort of operation in very close vicinity of the ship,” he said.

Nick Bartlett, another flying qualities engineer, said it was “almost like a fog” for the pilot as he tried to peer through the display to find the ship.

“As soon as he took off, the way he talked, I was like, ‘this is not good,'” he said.

A spokesman for the F-35 Joint Program Office, Joe DellaVedova, told Military.com only that the night-vision camera on the helmet display “did not perform as expected” under low light conditions and increased the pilot’s workload during landing.

“There are several software changes being made that will significantly improve the night-vision camera low light level performance,” he said. “These changes will be implemented in the next few months and available for testing this fall.”

The F-35 helmet, which costs $400,000 per copy and is designed to allow pilots to “see through” the aircraft via externally mounted cameras, is no stranger to glitches.

Pilots have previously complained about the contrast of the display’s ambient light during

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

it generates can be distracting or blinding on dark nights. In December,

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, then-program executive officer for the F-35, said the

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

despite attempted software fixes. Engineers continued to work that problem, he said.

The video that recently surfaced appears to indicate a new nighttime visibility problem, in addition to others that have been publicly identified.

In his presentation, Fields gave credit to the pilot, who positioned himself on the flight deck using two generators he remembered walking past on his way to the aircraft.

“I think his words later were, ‘screw you, ship, I’m landing on you,'” Fields said. “We got lucky. There is no way around it. We got very lucky that night.”

 

[Jura The idiot]

now noticed at Jane's (dated 19 July 2017)
Lockheed clarifies weak F-35 deliveries, backlog data

Lockheed Martin officials have used the company's 18 July earnings call to clarify weak data points that were released earlier the same day with its second-quarter results. These include shipments of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, which fell during the period to 14 units (from15 during the first three months of the year), despite earlier projections that shipments would increase as 2017 progressed.

Lockheed's chief financial officer Bruce Tanner attributed the slump to timing differences, noting that several aircraft were shipped just days after the quarter ended. Tanner added that F-35 deliveries during the second half of 2017 should be further bolstered by five aircraft in production outside the US, which were not included in the total figures.

... and the rest is behind paywall:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!