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

[Jura The idiot]

... PARIS: F-35 goes from zero to hero ...

according to the Russian blogger (where I found these pictures;

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):

1. the F-35 was behind two fences, three security layers;
2. the F-35 aerial demonstration was impressive, surpassed that of the Rafale (which I didn't watch, just link it here:
   )

 

[Jura The idiot]

Today at 6:07 PM

...
the F-35 was behind two fences, three security layers; ...

and now noticed

"Some preventive measures were obvious, such as the fact that the F-35 was ringed by two metal guard rail cordons, while nearby aircraft, such as a Spangdahlem F-16 and an Army Apache Longbow attack helicopter, were behind single fences."

etc.: How to Keep a Stealthy F-35 Safe While on Public Display

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The F-35A is the Air Force’s state-of-the art, highly expensive, fifth-generation strike fighter. How do you keep it safe at a Paris Air Show where tens of thousands of foreign government officials, international industry officials, and curious onlookers have easy access to jet on static display? By working closely with the show’s French hosts, following established security protocols, and reading and understanding the environment, according to the airmen responsible for keeping the F-35 secure in France this week.

US and French authorities held a series of planning and coordination meetings as details of what aircraft were coming to Paris were sorted out. Col. Justin Hickman, US Air Forces in Europe “Air Boss” for the Paris Air Show, said he and his team laid out their security concerns ahead of time and worked to ensure they were addressed.

Some preventive measures were obvious, such as the fact that the F-35 was ringed by two metal guard rail cordons, while nearby aircraft, such as a Spangdahlem F-16 and an Army Apache Longbow attack helicopter, were behind single fences. Jet blast barriers were set up behind the corral, offering some degree of protection in the direction of the air base’s perimeter. The goal, said Hickman, was for the crowd to be able to enjoy seeing an F-35 up close—but “from a safe distance.”

The team brought along its own dedicated security forces. MSgt. Roy Chavez, chief of US security at the DOD corral, said the defenders are able to tailor their presence to the threat. The airmen can move around the various aircraft in the DOD corral while remaining on the lookout for trouble. Security can be increased by simply pushing back the perimeter fencing for a larger “safe zone,” he said, noting you don’t necessarily have to bring over more personnel. Similar procedures are in place for the F-35’s daily move through the crowd from the static display corral to the hanger area, 700 meters away, for the day’s flying.

Both Chavez and Hickman are permanently assigned to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Ultimately, Hickman said, your “gut feel” helps determine what the exact security procedures are going to be, and the US works in close cooperation with the French to alleviate threats.

On June 19, the first day of the air show, a terrorist driving a car full of explosives rammed a police vehicle on the Champs Elysees. The terrorist later died, and no one else was injured in the attack, but visitors to the air show the next day saw an outer security perimeter manned by French personnel in BDUs and armed with rifles. This was the outermost of three French security rings visitors passed through before they could access the airfield.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

German officials meet with Lockheed to talk F-35 at Paris Air Show
By:

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June 23, 2017 (Photo Credit: Alan Lessig/Staff)
LE BOURGET, France — During the Paris Air Show this week, German government officials met with Lockheed Martin to talk about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a source connected to the program told Defense News.

It is not uncommon for potential customers — including Germany — to engage with the defense industry on a number of platforms or technologies, nor does the meeting indicate a significant step forward in the process of selling the F-35 to Germany, the source said.

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However, the air show marked the first time the German government and Lockheed had ever discussed the F-35 specifically, albeit in an unclassified setting, he said.

In May, Germany sent a written request to the U.S. military for a classified briefing on the F-35,

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that month. No program of record has been approved by the German government, which intends to evaluate other fighter jets on the market to replace its fleet of fourth-generation Panavia Tornadoes. However, the apparent interest in the F-35 was somewhat surprising, given Germany’s participation in the Eurofighter Typhoon program built with the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain.


The U.S. Defense Department has agreed to support Germany’s request for a briefing, said F-35 Joint Program Office spokesman Joe DellaVedova, who was not aware whether the discussion would include classified data. Preparations for a meeting are moving forward, but a date has not yet been set.

In an interview with Defense News at the Paris Air Show, Orlando Carvalho, head of Lockheed’s aeronautics business, said the company is ready to support the U.S. government if it decides to press on with a classified briefing to Germany.

“We’ve seen the interest that the German Air Force has, but right now that’s in government-to-government channels in terms of their interest in getting a briefing,” he said. “As we always do, we’ll provide support to our government, to the JPO, if in fact they go forward with providing a briefing to Germany, but none of that has been worked out yet in terms of how that’s going to be done.”

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If a classified briefing is authorized, Carvalho said the company hopes to hold more in-depth talks about the fifth-generation capabilities that differentiate the F-35 from fourth-generation fighter jets.

“It’s not just about the signature, it’s about the avionics capability, the mission-system capability, the surveillance capability, ISR, etc. It’s about the ability to communicate on board [and] off board with other platforms,” he said.

Lockheed has thus far secured orders from 11 countries for the F-35. Finland and Belgium are also potential European sales opportunities for the aircraft, Lockheed's F-35 program manager, Jeff Babione, said in a Monday briefing.

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[Jura The idiot]

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TE welcome to Yesterday at 9:31 PM

May 17, 2017

now
German officials meet with Lockheed to talk F-35 at Paris Air Show

source is DefenseNews

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[Jeff Head]

Here's a picture that is representative of what ig going on with the F-35 program...despite all the detractors and their efforts to slow it down or stop it:



That's the Japanese F-35, flying on June 20th I believe.

You can bet many other nations will join the party.

...and the beat goes on.

 

[Jura The idiot]

the background:
Yesterday at 8:43 PM

Monday at 6:35 AM

here's DefenseNews story:
Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet shoots down Syrian jet after it attacks US allies
source:

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but How did a 30 year-old Su-22 defeat a modern AIM-9X?

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and
Syrian dogfight reveals F-35 stealth fighter may be toothless tiger

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THE shooting down of a Syrian fighter jet may have exposed a fatal flaw with Australia’s next generation aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter.

Details have begun to emerge about Sunday’s incident, which saw two US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets engage a Syrian Su-22 fighter in the skies near the Islamic State capital of Raqqa.

It was the first time a US combat jet has shot down a manned aircraft since 1999.

But things did not go to plan.

According to the marketing and lobbying of manufacturers, modern US air-to-air missiles have a claimed ‘kill’ ratio of almost 100 per cent.

But one of the missiles fired at the Cold War veteran missed.

FALLING ARROWS

The shoot-down followed attacks on US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces by Syrian Government troops using tanks and artillery.

Syrian regime forces began to advance after its jets bombed US-backed forces which were themselves moving on Islamic State positions near Tabqa, a town south of the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa..

This engagement prompted Coalition commanders to activate a ‘hotline’ with Russian forces in Syria, established to avoid just such incidents.

But the forces loyal to Russian-backed President Assad continued to advance.

So US commanders ordered Coalition aircraft to fire warning shots near the Syrian Government forces.

This halted the Syrian regime ground vehicles. But not its aircraft.

“They saw the Su-22 approaching,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.

“It again had dirty wings; it was carrying ordnance. They did everything they could to try to warn it away. They did a headbutt manoeuvre, they launched flares ….”

This reveals the US aircraft went to great pains to warn the armed Syrian aircraft away, flying just ahead of it to buffet it in the turbulence of their own wakes and firing flares to highlight the gravity of the situation.

“But ultimately the Su-22 went into a dive and it was observed dropping munitions and was subsequently shot down,” the spokesman said.

But it wasn’t quite that simple.

The US F/A-18E fired a heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder missile at the Su-22. But the 40-year-old Syrian jet was able to dodge, dropping flares and jinking out of its flight path.

The US fighter then had to fall back some 2km before firing a medium range, radar-guided AIM-120 missile. This successfully struck the target, and the Syrian pilot ejected over Islamic State held territory.

LIGHTNING WITHOUT THUNDER

The F-35A Strike Fighter carries no more than four air-to-air missiles in its internal bays. Less if it has to add air-to-ground weapons to that mix.

While the Lightning II can carry a much more extensive payload — including air-to-air missiles — under its wings, it does so at a significant cost.

It loses its stealth ability.

Without that ability to hide in the skies, its relatively poorer manoeuvrability, acceleration and speed puts it at a disadvantage to most modern Russian and Chinese fighter aircraft designs.

Which is why the F-35’s concept relies upon all air-to-air combat being conducted ‘beyond visual range’, where it is not required to manoeuvre. But long-range missile attacks are generally regarded as having less chance of success than those at close range.

And the F-35’s less than outstanding manoeuvrability also means it has less ability to ‘dodge’ in the final moments of an attacking missile’s approach.

A 2008 study by the RAND Corporation showed that, even assuming a 50 per cent offensive missile success rate and a 100 per cent successful defensive missile evasion rate, F-35 Strike Fighters would run out of missiles long before they ran out of targets.

F-35 proponents argued this warning was not relevant, as missile success rates were close to 100 per cent. Given Sunday’s performance, perhaps they were being optimistic.

 

[FORBIN]

F-35
Some British have now idea for 72 F-35B used only by Navy and the rest so 66 F-35A for RAF, A clearly less expensive ~ 30 millions $ each don' t need have 138 B make sense.

RAF want to split UK purchase of F-35 into A & B variants

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We must purchase at least 72 x F-35B aircraft first - to provide least 4 frontline squadrons for carriers + OCU + OEU + sustainment fleet

However when at least 72 F-35B purchased they could become RN owned, while RAF equips with F-35A - ending the fudge of joint ownership

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[Jura The idiot]

Monday at 10:04 PM

now used google to find
F-35 Aerial Demonstration Debut at 2017 Paris Air Show

and now checked this:

(you know, a Russian source:

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)
was indeed the takeoff LOL which it was:

 

[FORBIN]

Meanwhile

F-35 split buy idea is nonsense.

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[Jura The idiot]

Apr 21, 2017

Mar 13, 2017

related:
F-35C targeting system guides weapon to moving target

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By Christopher Ball, 412th Test Wing Public Affairs / Published April 20, 2017

but Raytheon pushes GBU-49 as quick fix to give F-35 ability to hit moving targets

Once Raytheon gets approval from the Pentagon to integrate its GBU-49 guided bomb with the F-35, it will take only a couple months to wrap up the necessary testing, a company official told Defense News on Thursday.

The U.S. Air Force and more recently the U.S. Marine Corps have identified Raytheon’s GBU-49 as the quickest way to give the F-35 the ability to prosecute moving targets. Currently, the F-35’s ability to strike moving targets is somewhat limited, requiring the pilot to manually direct a GBU-12 to its destination.

The Air Force has since issued a request for information seeking details about precision-guided munitions that would allow the F-35 to hit moving targets — potentially broadening its search into a competition. However, Mike Jarrett, Raytheon’s vice president of air warfare systems, believes the service will ultimately opt to sole source the GBU-49 from Raytheon.

“We have the capability in our inventory today, and we don't believe that anybody else does,” he said. “That’s the reason why we were able to do an accelerated integration. That's why we convinced the services to put it in 3f,” the software for the F-35 when the aircraft reaches full operational capability.

The GBU-49 was designed with built-in “lead laser capability” that allows the bomb to calculate how far a target will move, an ability the F-35’s suite of weapons doesn’t have in its 3i configuration, or the current software that has been in use since the aircraft hit initial operational capability last year.

Integrating GBU-49 with the F-35 can be done within the “single digital months” because much of the necessary activities have already taken place. GBU-49’s interfaces are very similar to the dual-mode Paveway 4 — which has already been integrated on the joint strike fighter for the U.K. — and its size and flight characteristics are comparable to the GBU-12 that’s part of the F-35’s 3i weapons load. Much of the ground-based testing has already been completed by Raytheon and F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin, Jarrett explained.

The U.S. services “will do a few flight test drops,” he said, “but we as a company have worked with Lockheed in their facilities in Fort Worth in the lab environment to make sure that the interfaces and everything are what they need to be.”

Once the U.S. services adopts GBU-49, it’s likely other F-35 customers will as well, which could ultimately boost sales of the weapon, Jarrett said.

source is DefenseNews

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