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

now noticed inside
Lockheed Predicts Record-Setting Readiness Rates Soon for F-35
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"I am certain the F-35 will set records for aircraft availability for a modern fighter in the future, without a doubt," said Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin Corps executive vice president and general manager of the F-35 Program.

what else is he expected to say huh?
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
Despite distractors the F-35B is deployed aboard USS Wasp (LHD 1).

EAST CHINA SEA (March 5, 2018) F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 conduct flight operations from the deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), marking the first time the aircraft has deployed aboard a U.S. Navy ship. (U.S. Navy & U.S. Marine Corps photos by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Alexandra Seeley,Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker & USMC Cpl. Bernadette Wildes, /Released)

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inside
USAF Isn’t Seeking Additional Aircraft in Its $1.44 Billion Unfunded Priorities List
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"Interestingly, the service did not say it needed additional F-35s—or any other known aircraft—if it were to receive additional funds in Fiscal 2019. That’s a significant departure from the $10.7 billion
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, which sought money for 14 additional F-35A strike fighters ..." etc.

what's up?
Jan 28, 2018
...
  • in the USAF top brass, there's just one group:
    F-35 stealth F-35 stealth F-35 stealth F-35 stealth F-35 stealth F-35 stealth F-35 stealth F-35 stealth
    and who doesn't like it, goes

    this group is looking for every billion to be poured into F-35s, in the process of course trying to kill A-10s, not upgrading Raptors much etc.

time will tell the rest
 
now F-35 Finally Can Use All Its Weapons In Combat
Mar 5, 2018
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The newest U.S. Air Force
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, both stateside at Hill AFB, Utah, and overseas in the Pacific, finally can employ the stealth fighter’s full suite of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons in combat.

The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) has delivered the flight clearances, simulators, threat information, and logistics system required for the Air Force’s F-35As equipped with the latest software load to employ all of its weapons throughout the full flight envelope, according to the JPO,
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and Air Force officials.

This milestone gives the Block 3F-configured F-35As assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron stationed at Hill and those forward-deployed to Kadena Air Base, Japan—on North Korea’s doorstep—some lethal capabilities. The aircraft now can fire
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’s short-range
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Sidewinder missile, the GAU-22 25mm gun, and
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’s precision-guided
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, all while flying up to 9Gs at 1.6 Mach.

The F-35A touched down in Kadena for its first operational deployment to the Pacific in November, a highly anticipated milestone that underlines the U.S. military’s commitment to allies in the region amid tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

The “Rude Rams” F-35As join the “Green Knights” F-35Bs of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, which is permanently stationed at Iwakuni, Japan, significantly increasing the number of stealth F-35s in the region.

The 12 F-35As from Hill will be deployed to Kadena until May, a six-month rotation, as part of U.S. Pacific Command’s theater security package.

Meanwhile, the U.S.
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short takeoff, vertical-landing F-35B and U.S. Navy F-35C carrier variant configured with the 3F software will be able to deploy with their full operational capability in May and June, respectively, F-35 Program Executive Officer (PEO) Vice Adm. Mat Winter said during a Feb. 28 media roundtable. For the F-35Cs, this means the aircraft will be able to deploy Raytheon’s AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) in combat.

There is one caveat—the final 3F simulator capability has been broken into two releases, Lockheed’s Executive Vice President for Aeronautics Orlando Carvalho said in a March 5 interview. The first release has been delivered for the 3F F-35As, he said.

Even though the F-35’s long development phase finally is drawing to a close, the JPO and Lockheed will continue working to modernize the aircraft with an updated threat library, logistics system and simulators, Winter said.

“We have warfighting capability today that is effective against the current threats and the ability to fight the fight for our U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force,” Winter said. “Is that good enough? It is absolutely effective and good enough for today, but as we look from our intelligence reports and the threat growth in 2025 [we must] ensure that we stay ahead of that growing threat so that the F-35 air system will remain technologically advanced on the battlefield well into the [century].”
 

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
can't see any weapons

Duh!, you probably ought to check the weapons bay, and to be honest Chief, you don't necessarily carry weapons, if your doing intercepts, that's considered bad form, you're just there to "run the guy off"!

so carrying weapons on routine air ops that are primarily observation and testing at this point, attempting to establish protocols, maintaining the airframe, engine, and avionics. Determining inter-operability with our own and others aircraft and naval vessels, so NO, you're NOT going to see weapons..

but rest assured, if and when the threat level were to go up?? (it's very low right now, the Chinese are following a fairly similar course to ours), those weapons are aboard ship, if your initial patrol is met with armed resistance, the alert on deck aircraft are armed and will go "take care of business"....

and I can assure you, you will NOT see weapons draped off the aircraft when that occurs, it will be full L/O. If they encounter the other aircraft visually, it will be because we want to, but any "take-downs", will take care to maintain low observability.. but for now, the objective is to establish a visual presence.
 
inside
Lawmakers Quiz Military Aviation Leadership About F-35 Costs
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“Looking back knowing what you know, was it a good idea?” Wicker asked.

“Yes sir, we need that capability. We absolutely need that capability,” Grosklags said. “We needed that capability ten years ago, we still need it today. But we needed it ten years ago. It’s disappointing it’s taken so long to get it to the fleet.”

[Wicker is a Senator, Grosklags is a Vice Admiral]
 
Dec 12, 2017
Today at 12:09 PM

related:
Spat over the F-35 bubbles up in Germany
4 hours ago
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and according to DefenseNews
Nuclear burden-sharing dictates that Germany acquire the F-35
Nuclear deterrence is again at the
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— not only for the United States but also its major allies, particularly the members of NATO.

Moscow seeks to leverage the threat posed by its growing and modernizing nuclear arsenal to paralyze any Western response to its efforts to destabilize the political, economic and
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of nations on Russia’s periphery, and shatter the alliance. Senior Russian leaders have repeatedly and publicly threatened the use of nuclear weapons against European nations, including NATO countries.

Russia has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, even announcing that it was permanently stationing an advanced variant of the nuclear-capable Iskander missile to Kaliningrad from where they are but a few minutes flight time from critical NATO military installations in central Europe.

The Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review illustrates from an American standpoint the long-standing view that a strong, cohesive nuclear alliance is the most effective means of deterring aggression and promoting peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region. Deterrence, particularly of nuclear attack, is dependent on deploying and maintaining credible and effective military capabilities.

In addition, the sharing of responsibility for the storage and delivery of tactical nuclear weapons among member countries is a key aspect of NATO’s strategic deterrent. NATO’s arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons consists entirely of air-delivered B61 gravity bombs. Currently, in addition to U.S. forward-based fighters, five NATO countries — Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey — host tactical nuclear weapons, and all of these but Turkey have dual-capable aircraft dedicated to their delivery.

For Germany’s part, the new government faces a
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with serious consequences not only for that country’s security but the future of NATO. The German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, must decide within the next several years on a replacement for its fleet of some 70 Tornado fighters. These aircraft need to be retired starting in 2025.

What makes this otherwise rather modest requirement of such significance is that some of the Tornado fighters are dual-capable, meaning they have the special wiring and controls to deliver nuclear weapons. Unless their replacement is capable of delivering nuclear weapons, Germany will be unable to fulfill its commitment under NATO’s nuclear-sharing agreement.

The Luftwaffe needs a Tornado replacement that is not only outfitted to carry nuclear weapons, but also capable of delivering these weapons to their targets in the face of advanced, highly lethal air defenses on the first day of war. The German government has suggested the Eurofighter Typhoon might fit the bill. Currently, Germany operates 145 Eurofighters.

However, the Typhoon meets neither of these criteria. Designing, testing and certifying a nuclear-capable Eurofighter variant would take years to develop and add hundreds of millions of dollars to the already high cost of this aircraft. In addition, the ability of the Typhoon, like all fourth-generation fighters, to penetrate Russia’s integrated air defenses is already questionable. Because the nuclear deterrent mission must be credible from the outset of hostilities, before Russian air defenses have been attrited, the use of fourth-generation aircraft in this role is increasingly nonviable.

Fifth-generation aircraft, currently the American-built F-22 and F-35, have capabilities that make them particularly suitable for missions involving countering advanced air defenses. Also, in recent Red Flag exercises, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter achieved a 15-to-1 air-to-air kill ratio against a variety of fourth-generation aircraft. These are the major reasons why three U.S. military services and the U.K., Italy, Norway, Canada, the Netherlands and Turkey, NATO members all, have already committed to acquiring the F-35. Belgium is currently examining several options to replace its F-16s, including the F-35.

Some number of F-35As, the version being acquired by the U.S. Air Force and several NATO allies, will be modified with the wiring and other gear to enable them to carry the B61. Current plans call for a nuclear-capable F-35A to be fielded in the early 2020s. This timeline would meet the Luftwaffe’s schedule for retiring its Tornado fighters.

Even senior German defense officials see the Joint Strike Fighter as their country’s best near-term option. The Luftwaffe’s chief of Staff
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is the only aircraft that can meet all his service’s requirements for a Tornado replacement. In addition, he pointed out, acquiring a stealthy fifth-generation fighter capable of attacking targets from far away would strengthen the interoperability of European air forces.

For political and industrial base reasons, the German government prefers to replace its Tornado aircraft with a European fighter. However, it is already too late to develop a new aircraft and meet the 2025 deadline.

In the long term, Germany will naturally want to pursue a European fifth-generation fighter capability. But for now, it makes sense for the Luftwaffe to acquire the F-35.
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