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

[Jura The idiot]

I'm an urban legend after this:

Wait no subtle jab at the F35 and the Air Forces management of it?
Who are you and What have you Done with Jura?!

LEL

 

[Jura The idiot]

now How is the F-35 improving its dogfighting skills in Japan?

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The F-35 has caught flack for what critics decry as lack of dogfighting prowess, a reputation that has followed the Joint Strike Fighter for years.

But

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, F-35 operators are getting the chance to prove those detractors wrong.

In October, more than 300 airmen and 12 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jets from Hill Air Force Base, Utah,

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, marking the Air Force’s first-ever F-35 deployment to

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. Since then, pilots have focused primarily on the air-to-air fight — a rarity for the F-35, a stealthy fifth-generation jet that is more known for its air-to-ground capability.

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, a small 466-square-mile plot of land surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, offers a prime location for F-35 operators to practice aerial combat, said Capt. Ryan Fantasia, an F-35A pilot with the 34th Fighter Squadron.

“The airspaces are all over the water, so it’s a lot harder to look down and see the ground or anything like that. Plus, the Eagles are here,” he said, referring to the two F-15C/D Eagle fighter jet squadrons based at Kadena.

F-35A pilots train with F-15C/Ds anywhere from a couple times a month to a couple days a week, Fantasia told Defense News in February. Sometimes those exercises include Eagles from the

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; while other days, F-35 pilots mix it up with F-15s from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

“It’s a blast. I really, really enjoy it,” said Fantasia, a fairly new pilot who graduated in January from the inaugural F-35 basic flight class. Fantasia and the five other “B-course” graduates are the first pilots trained from the start to be F-35 operators. They didn’t have prior experience in another combat aircraft like an F-22 or F-16.

Now, those pilots get to learn not only from the more knowledgeable F-35 operators based at Hill, but the F-15 pilots of Kadena, whose training consists of tactics and techniques that have been passed down and refined over nearly four decades.

“The training itself, we’re really taking advantage of the joint part of the exercise,” Fantasia said. “So the ability to see everybody’s different capabilities and then ultimately put that into one fluid scenario, it really allows for a lot of successes out there and a lot of chances to learn from each other.”

During his last flight, Fantasia faced off in a one-on-one fight that allowed him to practice basic fighter maneuvers — things like high-G turns, high climbs and high angle-of-attack moves that allow a pilot a more advantageous position when in a close-quarters fight.

Fantasia didn’t say whether he went up against another F-35 or an F-15, but the older fourth-generation jet still can pose a challenge in a dogfight.

The F-15C sustained has a long run as the Air Force’s premier air superiority jet, from the time it was introduced in the 1970s to 2005, when the fifth-gen F-22 was fielded. It’s famed for its incredible aerial combat record, with no losses ever recorded.

The F-35’s record against fourth-generation fighters hasn’t always garnered the jet positive attention. In 2015,

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obtained a five-page brief authored by an F-35 test pilot, who wrote that the Joint Strike Fighter had been outclassed by the F-16. The pilot dogged the F-35 as too slow and not maneuverable enough to evade the F-16 or to shoot it down, the report stated.

At the time, the Defense Department

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by pointing out that the aircraft involved in the test was a very early model with a flight envelope limited to only 5.5 G’s. The jet also did not feature many of the mission systems, stealth coating or helmet display functionality considered by some as the defining features of the F-35, which are now widely available.

In February, the F-35s at Kadena got the latest block 3F software, the full combat capability version that allows the aircraft to fly its entire flight envelope and up to 9 G maneuvers. But even before that, the Joint Strike Fighter’s air-to-air game has shown improvement, achieving a 20-to-1 kill ratio at its

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.

Capt. Brock McGehee, a pilot from Kadena’s 44th Fighter Squadron who has been flying F-15s for two years, characterized the F-35 as an “extremely capable” air-to-air fighter, during a February interview with Defense News.

“It’s just kind of scary a little bit to fly around in the dark with an invisible airplane that’s around you somewhere,” he said. “Those guys are very good pilots, their situational awareness is very high and they do a good job of keeping us in the loop of where they are when they’re on the same team as us.”

McGehee compared the F-35 to its fifth-generation brother, the F-22 Raptor. Both are stealth aircraft, making them very difficult to detect at long distances. But in close combat, an F-15 will engage an F-22 and F-35 very differently, he said. He declined to discuss specifics that could reveal tactics, techniques and procedures and provide an adversary with hints about how to best either aircraft.

“An F-22, if you’ve ever watched the demo of it, you can turn inside out. It’s ridiculous,” he said. “An F-35, it turns differently. So that’s just [basic fighter maneuver] kind of awareness for us of what to do differently.”

So can the F-15 beat the F-35 in dogfights?

“I mean, sometimes,” McGehee said, adding that all aircraft lose in aerial combat sometimes, and for various reasons.

“Part of it is the aircraft and part of it is the man in the aircraft,” he continued. “We’ve got some really talented pilots here who are able to gain the offensive on a lot of other pilots. A pilot who understands this aircraft very well and is very skilled at it is pretty lethal no matter what he’s flying, so it’s possible.”

 

[Air Force Brat]

now How is the F-35 improving its dogfighting skills in Japan?

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so now we're in the real world, and for a newbie like Capt Fantasia to be having a good time,, the F-35A is indeed a game changer, and 9Gs puts you up there with the "big dogs",,, as the F-15 jockey says, its scary to know he's out there, and coming for you, and he compared the F-35s L/O to the F-22,, I'd say its very good...

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

F-35, submarine programs on track for Norway
By:

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  1 day ago

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, constitute a major modernization of Norway’s military equipment.

Specific to the submarines, the minister said there were no concerns over the decision to pick the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems 212A-class design, despite the fact the German fleet of similar design was

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due to bottlenecks in the procurement of spare parts and an accident to one boat that happened off the coast of Norway.

“We also have some knowledge about submarines, so we think this will be a good project, building the new submarines with Germany. We also are looking for more partners to see if some more countries could participate,” Bakke-Jensen said of the program, which was

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. “So I think this is a good project so far.”
Norway intends to buy 52 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jets to replace its current inventory of 56 F-16 Fighting Falcons, which it will phase out

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.

Meanwhile, the country plans to have its four new submarines ready to go by the mid-2020s, while also

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in the 2022-2023 time frame.

A sketch of the 212CD design, which Norway has decided to procure. (TKMS via Norwegian Ministry of Defence)
That means Norway’s military will have a very busy few years in the early part of the next decade — something for which Bakke-Jensen said his ministry is trying to plan.

“It’s challenging to change systems, of course. We are also changing the military system, the education system at the same time to cope with the changing and the new technology and the new jobs,” he said. “We think we have a very good plan. We think it’s important to stick to the plan.

“I think we will cope with it. But every time when you change existing systems you will have a dip in operational readiness, but not more than we can cope with.”

The minister said his team is working on timing to avoid that “dip” hitting all at once, adding that “we can assure that we can do the mission we’re supposed to do … we will time it and cope with it. That’s possible.”

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[Jeff Head]

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​

The US has completed carrier qualifications for the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II aboard the Nimitz-class USS Abraham Lincoln on the Atlantic Ocean from 17 March to 21 March.

Two squadrons -- VFA-125 and VFA-101 -- accomplished day and night qualifications with 140 "traps", each denoting a successful landing on the carrier deck. The milestone clears the F-35C to begin operational testing on the carrier later this year, which will determine if the US Navy can obtain their initial operational capability target for the aircraft in fiscal year 2019.

The F-35C was qualified alongside other carrier-borne aircraft, said Rear Adm Dale Horan, director of the navy's F-35C Fleet Integration Office.

"It's personally interesting for me, but also professionally, it's really neat to see this aircraft out there with other aircraft; we haven't done that before,” he said. “Previously, all the (carrier qualification) evolutions have just been F-35s."

The qualification event tested the operation of the F-35C's folding-wing feature, as the aircraft manoeuvred on the deck and in the hangar with Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.

The navy's F-35C has a longer wingspan than the US Air Force’s F-35A and the US Marine Corps’ F-35B because it needs the additional lift to fly at slower speeds without stalling as it approaches an aircraft carrier to land.

I wonder how many F-35Cs each squadron sent?

Foru perhaps...a totaal of eight F-35Cs on the Lincoln?

I'll try and find out.

More photos:

 

[Jura The idiot]

so now we're in the real world, and for a newbie like Capt Fantasia to be having a good time,, the F-35A is indeed a game changer, and 9Gs puts you up there with the "big dogs",,,

funny you didn't pull the next sentence
"But even before that, the Joint Strike Fighter’s air-to-air game has shown improvement, achieving a 20-to-1 kill ratio at its

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."

LOL how much is it now, perhaps three dozen to zero
?

as the F-15 jockey says, its scary to know he's out there, and coming for you, and he compared the F-35s L/O to the F-22,, I'd say its very good...

 

[timepass]

Lockheed Martin Unveils MQ-25 'Stingray' Tanker Drone Design for the Navy...

"Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs, better known as Skunk Works, has released concept images of its MQ-25 'Stingray' design, an unmanned carrier-launched tanker plane. The refueling drone will compete against designs from Boeing and General Atomics for a Navy contract to build a fleet of the aircraft.

The Navy's MQ-25 program seeks a refueling drone that can perform catapult-launched takeoffs and arrested landings on aircraft carriers. The tanker should be capable of passing 14,000 lbs. of fuel to other planes at a range of 500 nautical miles from the carrier.

Such a tanker could significantly extend the operating range of carrier-based fighter jets like the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35C Joint Strike Fighter. A Super Hornet, for example, has a strike range of about 450 nautical miles. The Stingray could extend that range to more than 700 nmi."

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[bd popeye]

Ah..actually in the Atlantic only GHWB is off loading ammo. CVN-72 is onloading. On the west coast USS John C Stennis (CVN 74) is also onloading ammo.

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INDIAN ISLAND, Wash. (March 26, 2018) Sailors assigned to the Weapons department load ordnance onto an elevator during an ammunition onload aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). John C. Stennis is conducting routine training as it continues preparing for its next scheduled deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David A. Brandenburg/Released)

ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 25, 2018) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) pulls alongside the fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE 6) for an underway replenishment and ammunition onload. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Shane Bryan/Released)

ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 24, 2018) Senior Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Julius Carter, right, from Savannah, Georgia, directs Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Courtney Copeland, second from left, from Pollocksville, North Carolina, and Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Kristen Champion, from Milton, Florida, to move ordnance aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) during ammunition staging in preparation of an offload. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joe Boggio)

Check out the F-35Bs aboard Essex!

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PACIFIC OCEAN (March 26, 2018) F-35B aircraft sit on the flight deck of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) as the ship transits the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California during an amphibious squadron and Marine expeditionary unit (MEU) integration (PMINT) exercise. PMINT is a training evolution between Essex Amphibious Ready Group and 13th MEU, which allows Sailors and Marines to train as a cohesive unit in preparation for their upcoming deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jenna Dobson/Released)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (March 26, 2018) The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) transits the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California during an amphibious squadron and Marine expeditionary unit (MEU) integration (PMINT) exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jenna Dobson/Released)

 

[Jeff Head]

Ah..actually in the Atlantic only GHWB is off loading ammo. CVN-72 is onloading. On the west coast USS John C Stennis (CVN 74) is also onloading ammo.

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Love to see those F-35Bs getting out on more and more of the LHDs.

 

[Jura The idiot]

Mar 20, 2018

cross-posting from
South Korean Military News, Reports, Data, etc. 5 minutes ago
:
(just the picture, link here)

Here’s South Korea’s First F-35A Lightning II Stealth Aircraft During Its Maiden Flight
Mar 20 2018

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now US, South Korea celebrate first South Korean F-35A and ‘iron clad’ alliance

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Officials from South Korea and the United States gathered in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday to celebrate the public debut of the South Korean Air Force’s first F-35A Lightning II multirole fighter jet. Both a celebration of interoperable

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and shared values, officials from the two nations emphasized the F-35A will serve to protect peace and stability

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.

Speaking before delegates from South Korea’s National Assembly and Air Force, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson said the F-35A “will be a symbol of strength, reminding us all that when we partner together, our nations are safer, our people are more secure and our future is brighter.”

“The F-35A will not only deliver tremendous capability to ROK, it also reinforces our alliance and further strengthens our defense relationship,” Ellen Lord, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said, using an acronym for the Republic of Korea, the South’s official name. “The U.S.-ROK alliance remains iron clad, and this ceremony is one example of how the unity and cooperation between our two great nations will continue for years to come.”

While South Korean officials agreed that partnership on the F-35 was both militarily and symbolically important, they stressed the importance of on-time delivery.

South Korean Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Seong-Yong Lee said that because the U.S. Air Force operates F-35s in South Korea, the aircraft’s addition to the fleet will “enhance the ROK and USAF interoperability and further strengthen the iron clad ROK-U.S. alliance.”

He added that his forces “need the aircraft to be manufactured on schedule and need our pilots, maintainers and support staff to be trained on time.”

South Korean Air Force pilots and maintainers will soon begin training on the aircraft at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. F-35s will begin arriving at the Asian nation’s main operational base at Cheongju, South Korea, in 2019.

South Korea is one of 11 countries procuring the F-35, and it plans to acquire 40 F-35As through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.