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

I am sure @Jura will enjoy some marketing gush. Oh don’t worry it’s European.
SPEAR EW.
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


Based off the SPEAR 3 concept which takes parts of the Brimstone adds wings and a mini P&W engine for a loitering or mini cruise missile. Now apparently adding decoy and Electronic warfare.
Rogoway pushed so hard for
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
as if he was selling them LOL

an estimate of unit cost anyone
:
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
The Brimstone already runs 2.6 times that.
About $260,000 a pop. This missile uses elements of that shorter range missile so I expect >$300,000.
 

Anlsvrthng

Captain
Registered Member
F-35 full weight cost is around 3 million $/ ton . (100 million $ price, approx 30 ton of weight.)

The tomahawk full weight cost is around 1.8 million, for 1.6 tons of launch mass with booster , 1.125 million $/ton.
 

Brumby

Major
U-2 channels F-35 sensor data in ballistic missile test

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!


A Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter, U-2 and a ground station have demonstrated a capability to shorten the decision loop involved in detecting and acting upon a long-range missile launch.

“During the demonstration, called Project Riot, an F-35 detected a long-range missile launch with its onboard sensors and shared the information through the U-2 to the air defense commander on the ground, enabling the commander to quickly make the decision to target the threat,” says Lockheed.

“This next-level connectivity reduces the data-to-decision timeline from minutes to seconds, which is critical in fighting today's adversaries and advanced threats.”

The initiative, says Lockheed, achieved four key outcomes in four months. These comprise using F-35 sensor data for missile defence, leveraged the U-2’s payload flexibility to link the F-35 and ground station, establish new data paths to transmit “5th generation” sensor data, and disseminate this data using the USAF’s Universal Command and Control Interface and Open Missions Systems Standards.

I suspect they probably used the "Einstein box" to pick up the MADL transmitted data to redirect it to the ground.
 

Brumby

Major
what is this? did they launch a ballistic missile??

The story is not about the ballistic missile. In my view it is proof of concept that the F-35 (with its sensors) can significantly shorten the entire OODA loop from detection to communication relay. Central to ballistic missile defense is in early detection and the ability to respond before the ballistic missile can gather speed. That said, while the concept can be demonstrated in a limited set conditions it is not practical IMO due to amount of resources that would be needed for coverage and persistence.
 
The story is not about the ballistic missile. In my view it is proof of concept that the F-35 (with its sensors) can significantly shorten the entire OODA loop from detection to communication relay. Central to ballistic missile defense is in early detection and the ability to respond before the ballistic missile can gather speed. That said, while the concept can be demonstrated in a limited set conditions it is not practical IMO due to amount of resources that would be needed for coverage and persistence.
well I looked again at that article
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
and all what was "demonstrated" happened in somebody's office LOL
 
wondering what's the catch as Extra-Long Sustainment Contracts Are Lockheed’s Latest Bid to Cut F-35 Costs
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

:

The company is pitching the Pentagon on a five-year deal — with promises to keep 80 percent of the fleet mission-ready.

Lockheed Martin is pitching the Pentagon on a new idea for reducing the cost of the F-35 combat jet: sign a five-year maintenance deal instead of negotiating a new contract every year. There’s also a performance-based twist: the company would provide enough spare parts to keep 80 percent of the world’s F-35s battle-ready — or face penalties.

Currently, Lockheed and the Pentagon’s F-35 program office negotiate new deals every year to maintain the hundreds of F-35s flown by U.S. and allied forces. The negotiations often take most of the year and by the time a contract is signed, it’s time to begin negotiating the next one.

Lockheed officials pitched the idea of a longer-term contract to Pentagon acquisition leaders over the summer in a 25-page white paper, said Ken Merchant, Lockheed’s vice president for F-35 sustainment, said in a Monday interview at the Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space & Cyber conference.

“It’s a commitment on the company’s part to a five-year deal and it would bring along the partners as well as the supply chain and allow us all to establish long-term arrangements with our vendor base,” Merchant said. “If we had a five-year deal where folks could could bank on having a certain level of money coming into their activities and be able to work long-term arrangements with the vendor base, everybody benefits from that.”

A spokesman for Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord declined to comment about Lockheed’s proposal.

“Undersecretary Ellen Lord and the department continue to work closely with Lockheed Martin to ensure the best capabilities for our warfighters at the best value to the taxpayer,” Lt. Col. Mike Andrews, a Pentagon spokesman, said in an emailed statement. “We will continue to keep any discussions or proposals on the F-35 program private until appropriate to discuss publicly.”

The Pentagon currently pays Lockheed more than $2 billion per year to sustain about 400 jets, or roughly $5 million per jet per year. But within four years, the global fleet is expected to reach nearly 1,200 aircraft as production ramps up.

Lockheed estimates that the tab for the five-year arrangement could come to $15 billion, and that it would save the Pentagon a total of $1 billion.

Company officials figure that both sides will do better with the half-decade-long deal, which will allow the aircraft maker to lock in longer-lead parts contracts and assure its suppliers of steady work at known prices. Lockheed also says that if the Pentagon signs the deal, the company will immediately invest $1.5 billion to buy parts, sign long-lead contracts, and improve the F-35’s ALIS logistics/maintenance software.

And Lockheed say the arrangement would require the company to make sure 80 percent of the fleet is always mission-ready.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
of the Air Force F-35s were deemed mission-ready in 2018, according to Air Force Times. Those numbers have
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, particularly for jets deployed overseas. Last year, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis ordered the military services to
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
to 80 percent.

Finally, Lockheed’s proposal includes a vow to reduce the cost per flying hour from the current
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
— for an Air Force F-35A in 2018 — to about $25,000. Company officials say they would absorb the risk.

“We are accepting a lot of the risk in the deal,” Merchant said.

The number of F-35 flown by the U.S. and allies is projected to triple in the next four years, from roughly 400 to nearly 1,200 jets.

“That growth is going to lead to a step function in flying hours and we’ve got to be prepared for that,” Merchant said.

Sustainment costs consume about 70 percent of Pentagon weapons spending.

“This is our opportunity to stand behind [our] product from the sustainment perspective,” he said.
as they say,
If Something Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Isn't
 
touching sentence inside
Lockheed Martin Proposes PBL Plan to Hit F-35 Operating Costs on Time
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

:

"The buy-in will also mean Lockheed will be “operating in the red for two to three years,” but the practical effect will be a savings to services of $2.5 billion, which will “allow them to keep their budget the same for the next five years,” and the savings of $1 billion could be “repurposed” for other line items."
 
Top