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

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
The U.S. Navy Has Finally Qualified the Carrier-Launched F-35C for Combat

The Navy's stealthy carrier-launched F-35C is now moving much closer to combat readiness after conducting "carrier qualification" exercises from the USS Carl Vinson off the coast of Southern California.


Carl Vinson air operations officer Cmdr. Joshua Hammond said carrier qualifications are important because they allow Carl Vinson to practice launching and recovering aircraft while helping qualify new pilots, according to a Navy statement from aboard the Carl Vinson.
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here's
CONCLUSION
The political agreement to procure new combat aircraft was made on the basis for decision provided by the Ministry of Defence. It is Rigsrevisionen’s assessment that generally the basis for decision is underpinned by thorough analyses and calculations.

However, the study shows that the Ministry of Defence has not provided evidence of a number of key assumptions underlying the calculations, nor has it reflected the uncertainty associated with the assumptions.

It is Rigsrevisionen’s assessment that there is a higher risk – than indicated in the basis for the decision – that the Danish Defence will be unable to perform all the agreed tasks with the 27 F-35 combat aircraft.(Emphasis added throughout—Ed.)

Rigsrevisionen’s study shows that the calculation of the necessary number of flight hours is based on assumptions concerning synergy and the pilots’ working conditions. However, these assumptions are not sufficiently evidenced nor is the possibility that they do not hold adequately reflected.

The study also shows that the Ministry of Defence’s calculation of the total number of flying hours for the 27 F-35s does not reflect potential shortcomings of the assumptions concerning average number of flying hours per year or the availability rate of the aircraft.

Therefore, there is a risk that the requirement for flying hours has been under-estimated, and the total number of flying hours overestimated.

The basis for decision should have highlighted the risk related to the necessary number of flight hours and the total number of flying hours, since both aspects have an impact on the ability of the 27 F-35 combat aircraft to deliver all the required tasks.

Furthermore, Rigsrevisionen’s study shows that the Ministry of Defence has estimated the life-cycle costs for the 27 F-35 combat aircraft at approximately DKK 66 billion over 30 years. Generally, the Ministry of Defence has employed an adequate model for calculating the life-cycle-costs, but the ministry has not adequately reflected all the risks associated with the underlying assumptions concerning, for instance, synergy and the pilots’ working conditions.

Therefore, the ministry may have underestimated the costs allocated to cover risks, which may increase the estimated life-cycle costs.

The Ministry of Defence has informed Rigsrevisionen that if these risks materialise, it would expect the capabilities of the Danish Defence to deliver the expected tasks to be affected first.

Based on the results of the study, Rigsrevisionen finds that the Ministry of Defence should improve the Danish Parliament’s basis for decision in connection with the submission of the request for approval of the procurement to the Finance Committee by:

  • Accounting for the risk associated with the key assumptions, including the inherent risk that the Danish Defence cannot deliver all the expected tasks with the 27 F-35 combat aircraft.
  • Updating the estimated costs to cover risks and more clearly reflect the risk associated with the estimated total life-cycle costs.
of
Extract from Rigsrevisionen’s report on
the basis for decision prepared
by the Danish Ministry of Defence
concerning procurement of 27
F-35 combat aircraft
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noticed (dated
11.03.2017)
Hill F-35s, Airmen arrive at Kadena
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Twelve U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs and approximately 300 Airmen from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, arrived here for the aircraft’s first operational deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region Nov. 2.

This is the first time the F-35s have deployed as part of a planned U.S. Pacific Command Theater Security Package.

Two of the twelve aircraft, as well as many of the Airmen supporting the deployment, arrived Oct. 30 after participating in the Seoul Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2017.

The deployment provides the region with the most advanced fifth-generation fighter, capable of a variety of operations including access to the global commons, active defense and power projection.

“The F-35A gives the joint warfighter unprecedented global precision attack capability against current and emerging threats while complementing our air superiority fleet,” said Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, Pacific Air Forces commander. “The airframe is ideally suited to meet our command’s obligations, and we look forward to integrating it into our training and operations.”

The F-35s deployment offers unique opportunities to integrate various forces into joint, coalition and bilateral training across many different environments.

The TSP program – which began in 2004 – is designed to routinely showcase the continuous commitment of the United States to stability and security within the Indo-Asia-Pacific region by deploying aircraft, personnel and equipment that bolster existing U.S. forces.

Theater Security Package deployments are conducted on a rotational basis by Air Force fighter or bomber squadrons and can vary depending on mission and the combatant commander’s requirements.

Theater Security Package deployments enhance the strength of alliances without the need to build vast infrastructure.
1000x513_q95.jpg

A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II lands on Okinawa, Japan, Nov. 2, 2017, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The F-35As from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, are deployed to Kadena AB under U.S. Pacific Command’s Theater Security Package program, which has been in operation since 2004. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Omari Bernard)
 
in case you didn't know
Norway’s First Three F-35 Jets Have Just Landed At Orland Air Force Station
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The first three 5th Generation stealth aircraft have arrived in Norway.

On Nov. 3, at about 15.57 local time, the first three
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jets (AM-8, AM-9 and AM-10) destined to the RNoAF (Royal Norwegian Air Force) and delivered directly to Norway have landed at Ørland Air Force Station, in central Norway.

Norway plans to procure up to 52 F-35A, at an estimated cost of about NOK 70 billion (+7.3B USD), including weapons and support, to replace its fleet of ageing F-16s, that will be replaced in 2021. The first two aircraft
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followed by another two in 2016 and three more ones earlier in 2017, but these aircraft were based at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona,
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The landing of the three F-35 at their new homebase at Ørland Air Force Station marks the first direct delivery from Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility to Norway, where all the remaining planes will be delivered, at a rate of six new jets per year from 2018 onward.

The arrival will be officially celebrated on Nov. 10, 2017, on the day of the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s 73rd anniversary.
F-35-for-RNoAF-at-Orland-768x576.jpg

The first three RNoAF F-35s on the ground at Orland Air Force Station, Norway. (RNoAF)
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according to DefenseNews Trump could let the UAE buy F-35 jets
As part of a larger U.S. strategy for enhanced strategic cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, the Trump administration has agreed to consider a long-standing request by Abu Dhabi to enter into preliminary talks on future procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

While no decision has been made, the willingness to consider extending a classified briefing to the UAE as the first significant step toward acquisition of the fifth-generation stealth fighter signals a departure from policy enforced under former President Barack Obama. The Obama administration had consistently rebuffed Emirati requests for the briefing dating back to 2011, citing Washington’s commitment to preserve Israel’s so-called Qualitative Military Edge, or QME.

In interviews, Gulf experts and industry executives insist the Trump administration fully intends to uphold congressionally mandated commitments to the QME, which aim to provide Israel the weaponry and assistance it needs to unilaterally defend itself against any combination of regional foes. At the same time, Washington wants to build on an expanded U.S.-UAE Defense Cooperation Agreement unveiled in May during Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s meetings with Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in the U.S. capital.

“The Trump team has agreed to consider the request. It’s not a ‘yes’ yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to happen once the dust settles,” a former Pentagon official told Defense News. He was referring to the ongoing dispute between the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with Qatar ― a rift the administration needs to amend before it can effectively implement Trump’s new strategy for countering nuclear and non-nuclear threats from Iran.

Experts cite a convergence of events that support extending preliminary F-35 program access to the UAE, the only Arab country to have participated in six U.S.-led coalition missions since the 1991 Gulf War and which hosts thousands of Americans deployed with the U.S. Air Force’s 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.

Firstly, unlike Saudi Arabia, which is some 20 kilometers from Israel’s Red Sea town of Eilat, the UAE does not share a maritime or land border with Israel. And unlike Saudi Arabia or other Gulf Cooperation Council states, the UAE Air Force has openly participated with the Israeli Air Force in international exercises, the latest in March in Greece with the Italian and Hellenic air forces and in annual U.S. Air Force Red Flag drills in Nevada.

Considering the common threat from Iran, and the time it would take for Abu Dhabi to negotiate a contract with Washington, let alone begin to take first deliveries, sources note that Israel will have enjoyed more than a decade of exclusivity as the only Air Force in the region to operate the F-35.

Israel’s Ministry of Defense declined public comment on the potential easing of F-35 restrictions for Abu Dhabi, citing sensitivities. Privately, however, sources said Israel is unlikely to object if initial steps are limited only to the UAE, and will not trigger wider approval for other GCC states.

“The two countries are not allies; not even friends. But under currently conceivable scenarios, if anyone thinks that the UAE will use this airplane to attack Israel, he or she is not living in reality,” said Shoshana Bryen, senior director at the Washington-based Jewish Policy Center.

Danny Sebright, president of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, said Abu Dhabi has been frustrated by U.S. policy governing technology transfer to the region. “The way our policy works now is Israel versus all other Arab countries. But they have no negative intentions toward the Israelis and don’t see themselves going to war with them. And as such, they don’t want decisions being held up based on how other Arab countries may affect Israel’s QME.”

In a recent interview, Sebright said Washington should consider UAE’s requests based on the merits of its long-standing partnership with the U.S. and its contribution to regional stability. He said the new 15-year Defense Cooperation Agreement is meant to be an indefinite umbrella agreement that should ultimately cover the F-35 and other front-line American weaponry as well as joint research and development, more special operations cooperation, and other bilateral initiatives.

In a 13-page report published by the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council last month, Sebright listed a broad spectrum of areas ― from counterterrorism to Afghanistan reconstruction efforts ― in which Abu Dhabi has materially contributed to U.S. security and its interests in and far beyond the Arabian Gulf. He noted that the UAE is one of the largest customers of the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program and ranks among the top 15 defense spenders in the world.

“U.S.-UAE basing agreements, joint training and weapons sales are not merely for show. ... The UAE has become not just a consumer of security, but also a provider of security in the Gulf region and the wider Middle East,” Sebright said.

Nevertheless, he warned that U.S. restrictions may force Abu Dhabi to turning to non-Western countries for major military systems. Earlier this year, the UAE and Russia signed a letter of intent to jointly develop a fifth-generation fighter based on the MiG-29, while Moscow announced UAE interest in potential procurement of the Sukhoi Su-35.

“Whether or not this transpires can be viewed as a reflection of the UAE’s frustration with the US acquisition process,” Sebright wrote. He said Abu Dhabi’s unmet F-35 request “is not an isolated case.” He cited the UAE’s purchase of Chinese UAVs as a supplement to a U.S. acquisition of unarmed Predator drones, the catalyst being Washington’s refusal to approve strike-capable systems.

“The UAE is not only a consumer of US security, but a provider for US security. ... While they may be willing to consider non-Western suppliers, it is important to emphasize that it continues to demonstrate a strong preference for US [weaponry] … which comes with US training and support and further reinforces the bilateral defense and security relationship that is so important” to both countries, the report concludes.

Simon Henderson, director of the Washington Institute’s Gulf and Energy Policy Program, suggested that Saudi Arabia could dispel concerns regarding its intentions toward Israel by publicly participating in U.S.-led exercises aimed at regional defense.

“The US would consider selling F-35s to the Saudis if the Saudis were not a threat to Israel. And an indication they are not a threat to Israel would be for Saudi Arabia and Israel to take part in the same third-party air exercises,” Henderson said.
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FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Norway,
Three ship

10 F-35A delivered on 52 replace 56 F-16AM/BM decent ratio in 3 Sqns these ones for 332 Sqn temporarily stand down since 2 years with F-16 retired waiting F-35A each Sqn must have ~ 16 - 18 birds

Luke Sqns have US and foreign F-35As for some years after completely US foreign going for their countries
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Each year receive 6 as UK ! all for 2024
Except USAF ofc no comparison the record is for Down Under :) 72 for 2023 about 12/year well done !
 
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FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Trump could let the UAE buy F-35 jets
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Curious all is new ! very good F-16 Block60/61 and 100 whose again 20 to delivered, 60 customised Mirage 2000-9 the best variant wilth all the panoply for weapons with a radar RDY-2 Mirage 2000-5 have RDY a little less good the first is close of the RBE-2 PESA used by first Rafale after AESA variant.

Or they want increase the number :eek:
 
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