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

[Hyperwarp]

Netherlands, F-35A and KC-10 to Edwards
...

More on that:

Dutch KDC-10 certified to refuel Lockheed F-35 08 APRIL, 2016 BY: JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DC The Royal Netherlands Air Force’s KDC-10 tanker has been certified to refuel the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II following flight trials at Edwards AFB in California. -

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[dtulsa]

It was surprising to me that the 35 wasn't developed with thrust hectoring for its engine could someone give me an answer as to why it would seem logical and would also eliminate a lot if maneuver concerns if had thrust vector would it not

 

[Hyperwarp]

It was surprising to me that the 35 wasn't developed with thrust hectoring for its engine could someone give me an answer as to why it would seem logical and would also eliminate a lot if maneuver concerns if had thrust vector would it not

Added weight, increase in costs and other complexities. Maintenance could also be an issue. IIRC the McDonald-Douglas version had 3D TVC but it got kicked out in the 1st round due to its complexity. USAF in the long run seem to prefer less complicated solutions. One reason why the YF-22 won over the YF-23. X-35 was the less complicated solution compared to the X-32 (not to mention its hideous appearance)

Off-course in a future block the F135 might get a TVC nozzle.

PS: The current F-35A fully armed with internal load should be superior to any F-15, F-16, F-18 in a dogfight. F-35 doesn't have the same drag penalty of the legacy fighters.

 

[dtulsa]

But what if it has external ordinance fuel tanks etc.and this can also be said of all aircraft civilian and military

 

[dtulsa]

I agree the Mac. Douglas offering was awful looking I can't get over the look of that bird

 

[dtulsa]

Thanks for the reply it's been so long this thing has been in development I forget the details of it's origins

 

[FORBIN]

Futurs AF Reserve F-35A bases, the nominee are and after the red carpet a decision

AF names candidate bases, criteria for choosing next F-35A sites

Air Force officials announced April 12 that Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona; Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida; Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas; and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, are candidate bases for the first Reserve-led F-35A Lightning II location.

The preferred and reasonable alternatives are expected to be selected in the fall and the F-35As are slated to begin arriving at the first Reserve-led F-35A location by the summer of 2023.

The Air Force also released basing criteria that will be used to select candidate bases for two Air National Guard squadrons, which are planned to receive their first aircraft in the summer of 2022.

“The Air Force is committed to a deliberate and open process to address F-35 basing,” said Jennifer A. Miller, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations. “As we progress through the basing process, we will share information so interested communities are aware of what to expect.”

The basing criteria for the Air National Guard bases include mission requirements (weather, airspace and training range availability), capacity (sufficient hanger and ramp space, and facility considerations), environmental requirements, and cost factors.

The Air Force will evaluate Guard installations with runways of at least 8,000 feet and operational A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, F-16 Fighting Falcons or F-15 Eagles against the approved criteria to identify candidate bases for the F-35A.

After identifying candidate bases, the Air Combat Command and Air National Guard will conduct site surveys at each location as applicable. Site survey teams will assess each location against operational requirements, potential impacts to existing missions, infrastructure and manpower, and then develop cost estimates to bed down the F-35A.

Based on the results of these efforts, the Air Force plans to identify candidate installations for the Air National Guard locations this summer before selecting the preferred and reasonable alternatives and beginning the environmental impact analysis process later this year.

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[Inst]

@kwaigonegin

At the end of the day, the F-35 is a high-risk project and rather expensive, vindicated only by its mass production (it'll be comparable in price to AESA Super Hornets and cheaper than Eurofighters due to batch manufacturing) and subsystems. It's a highly-flawed program that will give the Chinese and Russians the opportunity to gain air superiority over the West until the end of this generation, but it's the jet that ate the Pentagon; it's too big to cancel.

I am looking forward to, and far less dismissive of, next generation US fighters, however.

 

[asif iqbal]

Now this is a OUTSTANDING picture

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[Air Force Brat]

Now this is a OUTSTANDING picture

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Exactly, and if we didn't know better, we might assume that it was some "air launched vehicle like the X-15. As you can imagine it takes tremendous skill to "drive into and through all the turbulence off those wing tip vortices of the tanker, and they will roll you, as evidenced by the XB-70, rolling the F-104.

Then you have to "hook up" and maintain your exact position, one of the reasons that US fighter pilots are the best, if you can't fly a very tight formation, you are out of business---period.

I have tried it, with two such dissimilar aircraft it is a royal pain in the U know what, it is VERY DIFFICULT just holding formation, even in straight and level flight.