The Flying White Elephant

USAF is one (nice) thing, F35 future another.

 

F-35’s CFIT: Controlled Flight Into Trump

http://www.livefistdefence.com/2016/12/f-35s-cfit-controlled-flight-into-trump.html

 

The most expensive F-35 variant has hit another major snag that could take years to fix
Alex Lockie


Courtesy of Lockheed Martin

The Pentagon has established a "red team" to address considerable shortcomings with the F-35C, the carrier-based naval variant of the most expensive weapons project in history.

The F-35, subject to cost overruns and delays throughout its production, reached an initial state of military readiness with its Air Force and Marine variants in 2016, but the Navy's variant lags behind in part due to an issue with its nose gear during catapult-assisted takeoffs from aircraft carriers, Inside Defense uncovered on Wednesday.

Essentially the problem, detailed in a Navy report with data dating back to 2014, deals with rough takeoffs that hurt and disorient pilots at the critical moment when they're taking off from a carrier.

The Pentagon's red team found the problem was due to several factors central to the plane's design, and recommended several fixes that will take several months to several years to fully fix. The report states that long term actions to address the problem will not take place until 2019, at which point they'll take 12-36 months to implement.

Redesigns to the plane, as well as to carriers, may be necessary to fully address the problem.

A Pentagon deficiency report in 2015 stated that extreme movements in the cockpit during launch risked pilot health.

One hundred and five pilots completing catapult launches rated their level of pain or discomfort on a scale of one to five. Of the 105, 74 pilots reported "moderate" pain or a 3, 18 pilots reported "severe" pain or a 4, and one pilot reported "severe pain that persists" after launching from an aircraft carrier.


US Navy Photo

"The oscillations shake the pilot's head sufficiently to impair their ability to consistently read flight critical data, which poses a safety of flight risk," reads the report cited by Inside Defense.

This pain, more than a mere inconvenience, threatens the ability of pilots to read flight-critical data as they perform the complicated task of launching from a moving platform at sea. Exacerbating the problem, some pilots locked down their harnesses to avoid jostling around during the launch, but this makes it more difficult for the pilot to eject, should they need to.

At a roundtable discussion in December, F-35 Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan assured reporters that F-35C takeoff problems only occur when the planes takeoff with low weight load outs, saying " you don't see this problem at all" when the plane is more laden with ordnance or fuel.

A representative from Lockheed Martin told Business Insider that all the catapult launches they had monitored were successful.

The F-35C was the most expensive variant of the Joint Strike Fighter program for the most recent Low Rate Initial Production contract. The Navy currently operates aging F-18s, nine of which have crashed or majorly malfunctioned in the last six months of 2016. The Aviationist's David Cenciotti attributes this to the age of the planes.


Navy carrier wings are awaiting the overdue F-35C. US Navy

Meanwhile, the Navy awaits the F-35C's groundbreaking capability as other world powers invest heavily in their naval and anti-ship capabilities. President-elect Trump has expressed interest in building dozens of new ships, taking the US Navy's total from 272 to 350 operational ships, as well as confronting China in the heavily militarized South China Sea.

F-35 pilots have told Business Insider that the F-35s stealth characteristics make itabsolutely vital to operating in heavily contested airspace like the South China Sea, the Baltics, and lately Syria.

Lockheed Martin told Business Insider that it will look into the Inside Defense report. This post will be updated with the company's future comment.

http://www.businessinsider.fr/us/expensive-f35-snag-years-to-fix-2017-1/

 

Mr. President, Cancel the F-35

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/artic...should-cancel-failed-f-35-fighter-jet-program

 

Sometimes I am really amazed at how... The US (The Masters of Aerospace and the Kings of Aerial Warfare) are having so many problems with their Aircraft...The F-35 must be a unique aircraft....

IMHO... The problem looks to be more of a management problem than a technological one... Maybe they aimed for too much....Perhaps they are trying to jump over a mountain... Rather than slowly climbing it...They are having so many cost overruns and tech issues...

The F-35 is one of a kind... Perhaps no other country will dare to make a similar aircraft within a next few decades...Especially after watching the US struggle at it...

Anyway...

Once they achieve what they intended no doubt... The F-35 will be a very capable machine..

 

No it will be obsolete

 

http://www.air-defense.net/forum/topic/29-le-f-35/?page=673

 

US MIC has read the riot act to Trump. Fall in line or be prepared for massive leaks of your sexual fetishes.

F-35 is safe now.

 

Not Really..It was an elaborate plan by a 4chan member to humiliate neocon Rick Wilson a buzzfeed repoter!! And the media fell for it!!

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-...zfeed-and-cia-believing-trumps-golden-showers

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-...british-dont-use-confidential-they-use-offici

 

Exercise Raises Questions About Marine Corps F-35 Plans

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/ar...questions-about-marine-corps-f_35b-plans.html

 

Chinese Physicists Develop Quantum Radar That Can Detect Stealth Jets

MILITARY & INTELLIGENCE 11:34 04.10.2016(updated 11:36 04.10.2016) Get short URL1311529804

Chinese scientists have developed a small, powerful and secure radar system that relies on quantum physics to detect stealth targets located up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) away, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) announced. CETC described the device as the first "single-photon quantum radar system" in the country that uses entangled photons to detect objects that remain invisible to existing systems.

If true, this will come as bad news for the Pentagon which has heavily invested in stealth as the key game-changing technology in defense. The DoD's latest procurements include the costly Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth multirole fighter and the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) guided missile destroyer that also has stealth capabilities. The CETC radar utilizes a physical phenomenon known as quantum entanglement. Albert Einstein famously derided quantum entanglement as a "spooky action at a distance," but later research showed that the concept was indeed feasible. This is how it works. A quantum radar generates pairs of entangled photons, sending one particle into the air. This enables the system to obtain "critical information about a target, including its shape, location, speed, temperature and even the chemical composition of its paint from returning photons," Stephen Chen explained.

In theory, a quantum radar needs only one returning photon to determine an object's composition, the direction it is headed and its speed. This might sound like something from a science fiction novel, but the radar, according to CETC, has already been tested. The system intercepted targets located 100 kilometers away during a recent field trial, but some say that the maximum range could be greater. "The figure in declassified documents is usually a tuned-down version of the real [performance]," Professor Ma Xiaosong, a physicist at Nanjing University, told South China Morning Post. "The announcement has gone viral [in the radar research community].

The new system, according to CETC, has additional advantages, including small size and resilience to countermeasures. CETC designs and manufactures advanced electronics and communication equipment, information systems, software and components for military and civilian purposes. The state-owned company comprises research institutions behind some of the major technological breakthroughs in the country. They are said to have developed electronics for China's first nuclear bomb, guided missile and geo-orbital satellite.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/201610041045974842-china-quantum-radar-stealth/

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/f-35-lockheed-martin-cost-reduction/index.html

After Trump attack, Lockheed Martin slashes F-35 cost ​

Published February 4, 2017
SOURCE: CNN



Defense giant Lockheed Martin has agreed to sell 90 new F-35 fighter jets to the US Defense Department for $8.5 billion — a deal that amounts to more than $700 million in savings over the last batch of aircraft delivered. Lockheed Martin credited President Donald Trump for helping to “accelerate negotiations” and “drive down the price” of what is already the most expensive weapons program in history.The cost of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program found itself in Trump’s crosshairs on several occasions in recent weeks and Trump called for a review of whether a modified version of the older F/A-18 aircraft could replace the Navy’s costly F-35 variant. Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson gave then-President-elect Trump her “personal commitment” to cut the cost of the stealthy F-35 fighter jet after Trump posted a tweet criticizing the program and newly confirmed Defense Secretary James Mattis ordered the Pentagon to conduct a review of the $400 billion program last week. Once official, the deal in principle would mark the first time that costs for any of the three versions of the fifth generation fighter jet will have dipped below $100 million per plane. For this new batch of F-35s, the Air Force’s A version will cost $94.6 million, the B version flown by the Marines will cost $122.8 million, and the Navy’s C version will cost $121.8 million. “The agreement represents $728 million in savings and a nearly 8 percent reduction in price over our last contract for the air vehicle delivered by Lockheed Martin and our industry partners,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement to CNN. “This is a good deal for the American taxpayer, our country, our company and our suppliers.” Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 program executive officer, also commended the deal as fair “for the taxpayers, the US government, allies, and industry.”


But while the new agreement adds up to roughly $7 million in savings per jet over the last order, the extent to which Trump’s criticism impacted negotiations remains unclear.The Pentagon has worked with Lockheed Martin to bring the costs down since the program was restructured in 2011. And indications are that the program was already on target for cost reductions through 2019. “(W)e are substantially bringing the cost of each aircraft down and at the same time the F-35 program will continue to add thousands of additional jobs to the US economy as we increase production year over year,” said Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin F-35 vice president and general manager, in a statement. The newest F-35 contract includes 55 jets for the US military and 35 jets for international partners and foreign military sales customers. The $400 billion price tag for the 2,443 planes in the US part of the program is double the original budget


PS : 90 Jets for 8.5 Billion USD seems to be a good deal... Perhaps.....

 

If you don't have compatiable weapon technology with other weapons, drones, ships, missiles, tanks, ground troops, a country is not going to be able to take full advantage of F35 level of technology. By a number of countries being involved in the same program it will be a force multiplier in terms of military power as well as maintance.

 

And without the engine, support, ALIS, weapons....
The real price is far Superior.