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

Jul 15, 2018
Wednesday at 9:31 AM now
DoD Says A-10 vs. F-35 'Fly-Off' Is Over. But Will Results Satisfy?
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while now inside
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:

In other F-35 news, the director of Operational Test and Evaluation said that the so-called fly-off between the F-35 and the A-10 to show Congress how well they perform the all-important Close Air Support mission had been completed last month. (“This is not a fly-off, because they both have awesome capabilities,” Robert Behler said.)
etc.:
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Today at 7:59 AM
Jul 15, 2018
while now inside
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:

In other F-35 news, the director of Operational Test and Evaluation said that the so-called fly-off between the F-35 and the A-10 to show Congress how well they perform the all-important Close Air Support mission had been completed last month. (“This is not a fly-off, because they both have awesome capabilities,” Robert Behler said.)
etc.:
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related:
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Pentagon Finishes F-35, A-10 Comparison Testing

5/2/2019
Comparative testing of the Air Force’s F-35 and A-10 to measure their performance in combat search-and-rescue, close air support, and airborne forward air control missions wrapped up earlier this spring, and should spur conversations about how best to partner fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft in combat, the Pentagon’s top weapons tester said Thursday.

The 2016 and 2017 National Defense Authorization Acts ban the Air Force from retiring or divesting A-10s until the F-35 is vetted to see how well it can perform the Warthog’s missions.

About two-thirds of the testing was done last year, and the aircraft returned in March for a final look, according to Robert Behler, the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation. While the flights were intensive and instructive, he noted the tests were not a fly-off.

Testers pitted the planes against anti-aircraft weapons, man-portable air defense systems, and moving targets like radar-guided surface-to-air missiles, Behler told the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee. Each aircraft flew during the day and night, and were vetted in urban environments. One segment involved a downed crew member and required collaboration with other platforms like the HH-60.

As anticipated, the F-35 proved to be a valuable close air support asset, according to
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submitted by Air Force Acquisition Executive Will Roper.

“The F-35, as we expected, has a big advantage in a high-threat scenario where the stealth and sensor fusion really help,” Behler added. “In a lesser threat environment, we were able to put more weapons on the wings of the F-35, so we were able to get much better loads on the aircraft.”

Comparatively, the A-10 performed well with more fuel and more weapons in a low-threat environment.

“One thing that can’t be overlooked is that there’s 40 years of experience close to the ground with the A-10,” Behler said. “Training really matters. We had, in the second part of the testing in March, we had former A-10 pilots that are now part of the F-35 force.”

He told Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) the biggest effect the report may have is to spur the Air Force to develop new tactics for flying fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft together in combat.

“When we flew the fifth-gen and the fourth-gen [planes], there was a very good synergy of the two platforms,” Behler said. “The F-35 works as a great quarterback. It’s like a mini [Airborne Warning and Control System] out there, data fusion to be able to coordinate with the fourth-gen [aircraft] really provides a good performance.”

The full report is due to Congress at the end of the year.
 
Apr 15, 2019
I've been wondering for some time how the F-35 supply chain is diversified;

for example (that's a quote from Jul 23, 2016)

Aselsan is developing manufacturing approaches for advanced optical components, which are part of the F-35 Electro Optical Targeting System.

so what if a credible information came these components (I repeat that's just an example, and I'm looking forward to hear from nitpickers)
wouldn't be available anymore? what happens next?
kinda related is
Lawmakers offer bill to block F-35 for Turkey
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Key House lawmakers announced their bill Friday to
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to Turkey if Ankara buys the Russian
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.

The bipartisan trio of senior House Armed Services Committee members — Reps. Mike Turner, R-Ohio; John Garamendi, D-Calif., and Paul Cook, R-Calif., sponsored the bill, a companion to a bipartisan
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from Sen. James Lankford, R-Kan., and others. Both bills are called the “Protecting NATO Skies Act of 2019.”

“Operating the S-400 alongside the F-35 would compromise the aircraft and its sensitive technology, impact interoperability among NATO allies, and most importantly pose serious risk to our shared defense and security," Garamendi said in a statement. "This bill sends a strong and important message to Turkey — proceeding with the S-400 is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

The House bill came days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump a Turkish proposal to establish a joint committee over Turkey’s plans to purchase the S-400.

A statement from Erdogan’s office says the two leaders held a telephone conversation on Monday during which they also discussed the fight against terrorism and efforts to increase trade.

Turkey’s decision to purchase the advanced Russian system has deepened a rift between the NATO allies.

The U.S. has long been in talks for Turkey to buy the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system as an alternative to the S-400. In March, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told Turner “we need Turkey to buy the Patriot.”

After months of warnings, the U.S., in April, stopped delivery of F-35 parts to Turkey in retaliation for Ankara’s decision to move ahead with the S-400. The aircraft's delivery was planned for this summer, but the move was the first step toward actually ending the sale.

U.S. officials say the Russian defense system could pose a threat to the F-35 program and have warned of consequences if the purchase is finalized.

Turkey denies that the system is a threat and has proposed a joint committee to review security risks.

Turkey is set to buy 100 F-35As over the entirety of the F-35 program and Turkish companies are also part of the program’s industrial base and play a role in sustainment.

However, after months of warnings, Washington stopped delivery of F-35 fighter jet parts to Turkey last month in retaliation for Ankara’s decision to move ahead with the purchase of a Russian surface-to-air missile system.

Last month, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., penned a New York Times op-ed with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and ranking member Bob Menendez, D-N.J., threatening legislation that would bar Turkey from both the F-35 and S-400.
 
Fixing The F-35?
part of (dated May 03, 2019)
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:

“Software is different from hardware (and not all software is the same),” the
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warns. That means the Pentagon needs not only a separate process for acquiring software differently from hardware, but also needs the flexibility to acquire different kinds of software different. Even on a single program like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, for example, the code actually embedded in the aircraft, controlling highly classified sensors and weapons, requires a different approach from the mission and threat profiles, which require a different approach from the maintenance and spare parts database.

The F-35’s maintenance and spares software —
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‘s Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) — has been an unshakeable albatross around the program’s neck for years. Rather than simplifying ground crews’ jobs, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has said, ALIS requires them to spend an extra
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finding ways to work around it. The Air Force has unleashed its elite
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team of in-house coders to fix Lockheed Martin’s mess, but that’s a stopgap.

In the longer run, Lord — who oversees all defense acquisition, not just the Air Force — wants to make the F-35, and particularly ALIS, the subject of one of her first software acquisition pilots next year. While the main application of ALIS is for sustainment, Lord said today, “it has tentacles back into development and operations,” making it a good candidate for the
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.
it's
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Mar 1, 2019
...


my conjecture is the F-35 on-board diagnostics is at last-century level, so it can't cope with something THAT over-overgineered, but can't be upgraded either
 

Brumby

Major
U.S. Marine Corps conducts first ever F-35B fighter jet ‘elephant walk.
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Airmen assigned to the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 501 successfully conducted its first so-called “elephant walk” exercise, launching 20 F-35B Lightning II aircraft.
In an extraordinary display of raw power, military might, and operational readiness, ground and air crews from VMFAT-501, launched 20 aircraft near simultaneously in support of scheduled training.
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Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
amazing isn't it, here the US Marines have on display as many five Gens than any of our near peers, it seems as if China is holding at around 20 J-20's and Russia has around 10 Su-57's.

Not discounting the fact that some members here maintain China has twice that number?? but we really haven't seen any reliable evidence to back that up??

as for how these birds would stack up? the J-20 is probably in the same league L/O, likely similar in maneuverability, has more fuel, more top-end, advantage J-20. The Su-57 is likely the most agile, again has more top-end, more fuel, possibly more high altitude capability, advantage Su-57...

So the J-20 and Su-57 have some basic airframe advantages which many here consider a real tactical advantage, on the other hand the F-35 likely has the lowest all aspect L/O number, better EOTS, more agile radar, and much better sensor fusion with a much larger number of platforms communicating and fusing information to one another.... couple that with superior aerial refueling, and AWACs support, and you have a clear winner...

advantage F-35, the proliferation of F-35's among our partners increases the verity of interoperability, so all in all, a real winner, and well on the way to being the most prolific 5 Gen aircraft ever produced....
 

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
Ya' beat me to it Bumbry! :rolleyes::cool:

More photos of the F-35B "Elephant Walk" here;

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Here again, more photo evidence that all the naysaying about the F-35 is just a bunch of Krappola, designed to discourage the good guys, and encourage the bad guys to do something epically stoopid....

School is open, class is "in session"! who wants to be first?? Heh! Heh! Heh!, there are a certain percentage of people who will need to be "schooled!"?? no doubt...
 

Brumby

Major
Jun 7, 2018now
New Lockheed Concept Shows Navy F-35C Armed With Hypersonic Cruise Missiles
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sounds like every body goes hypersonic these days LOL

There are actually seven officially active hypersonic programs in the US pipeline after waking from its slumber having had its butt kicked by the Chinese and Russian hypersonic programs. They are :
1) The conventional prompt strike (CPS) program currently managed by the USN. It has a $5.9 Billion funding. The objective is to develop a common glide vehicle for the three services. The USAF will work on the rocket booster aspect. The immediate aim is to produce a Hypersonic Technology demonstrator (HTD).
2)The USAF with the Hypersonic Conventional Strike (HCSW) program will work on the rocket booster pertaining to the CPS and has a funding of $629 million.
3)The US Army has the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) as part of CPS. It has a funding of $1.2 Billion. Not much is known of its role in the overall CPS.
4)DARPA’s Advanced Full-Range Engine (AFRE) which is a turbine-based combined-cycle propulsion system. This program is contracted out jointly to Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK.
5)DARPA's Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) and has a funding of $818 million. The product of this is the Op-Fires program which is to introduce a land mobile capable platform as part of hypersonic strike. Speculation is the use of the USMC 10 wheeler LVSR mobile launcher.
6 and 7)DARPA/AFRL's TBG and HAWC program as mentioned in the drive article. The TBG program is derived from the HTV-2 program and its basically boost glide. The HAWC program is derived form the X-51A program and is scram-jet based. LM has its finger on both these programs.
 
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