Jura The idiot
General
Friday at 8:47 AM
U.S. Marines ‘Strike’ First F-35B From Inventory
now this story (dated Jun 27, 2018):related to Dec 21, 2016
is (LOL I don't post the headline)
U.S. Marines ‘Strike’ First F-35B From Inventory
With little fanfare, the U.S. decided in May to remove the first short-takeoff-and-vertical landing fighter from its inventory after a cost-benefit analysis determined repair was not justified.
In October 2016, the jet suffered a fire in its weapons bay after a training flight. The pilot landed the aircraft safely at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. The aircraft was assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501.
“The process of striking an aircraft is a measured balance between repair costs and potential return on investment—flight hours, service life, etc.,” Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Christopher Harrison told Aerospace DAILY.
The service has not determined whether the damaged aircraft will be used as a museum centerpiece or a trainer for maintenance procedures. This F-35B was the first that delivered to the Marine Corps, he said.
The Marine Corps declared the F-35B ready for war in 2015, and earlier this year the aircraft made its first deployment aboard the amphibious assault ships Wasp (LHD-1) with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
“The F-35B is a game-changer for the Marine Corps,” Lt. Col. Richard Rusnok, VMFA-121 commanding officer, said in a statement.
The U.S. in an October 2017 report highlighted the Marine Corps’ initial F-35 deployments on ships in 2018, and potentially the initial ship deployments for the U.S. Navy, will not include required intermediate-level maintenance capabilities. Such capabilities provide a level of support between the squadron and the depots so that repairs can be done at sea. The Pentagon has identified initial intermediate capabilities that it plans to implement, but funding is not in place.
“These decisions will trigger other requirements and related costs that must be planned for—such as for personnel, technical data, support equipment, and updates to policies governing the maintenance of spare parts—before the capability can be implemented,” according to GAO. “For example, program officials told us that once determinations are made about intermediate-level maintenance, the program will have to develop a plan that specifies what technical data rights are needed, and when, to facilitate intermediate-level maintenance, and will then have to negotiate with the contractor to obtain those technical data rights.”
Lockheed Martin owns 100% of F-35 sustainment, including data rights. Pentagon pricing chief Shay Assad said last October that intellectual property is a focus of the ’s deep-dive cost review because it is imperative to the F-35 sustainment strategy.
