F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

[tomahawk6]

Israeli F-35's flew into Iranian airspace undetected.

 

[Journeyman]

Israeli F-35's flew into Iranian airspace undetected.

Folks may wish to read "The Aviationist" take on this story, here.


Here’s Why The Claim That Two Israeli F-35 Stealth Jets Entered Iranian Airspace Does Not Make Any Sense

"The mission over Iran seems to be just one of these: a bogus claim most probably spread on purpose as part of some sort of PSYOPS aimed at threatening Israel’s enemies."

:dunno:

 

[MarkOttawa]

Interesting--what happens to program partners in the JPO?  See end of excerpt, rather being shafted one suspects:

Pentagon formulating plan to move F-35 management from central office to services

The Defense Department plans to dissolve the F-35 joint program office and revert to a more traditional management structure where the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps all run their own program offices – eventually.

In a March 27 letter to Congress, the Pentagon’s top acquisition official acknowledged that splitting up the F-35 management into smaller offices is likely the way to go for the future of the Pentagon’s largest acquisition program.

But exactly when such a transformation will occur was not defined in the letter written by Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, and the expectation in the Pentagon is that it could happen within the next several years.

“In order to effectively integrate and sustain the F-35 in the joint force, the military departments must have more direct ownership of the F-35 program and leverage organic capabilities, processes and infrastructure,” Lord wrote in the letter, which was sent to the congressional defense committees and first acquired by Inside Defense.



“The department will evaluate the right time to begin this transition through the F-35 executive steering group, which has participation across the department.”

The department intends to formulate a plan over the next year on how best to transition to service-led offices, Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Patrick Evans told Defense News.

Evans told Defense News that the transition will occur in three phases:

    “A measured restructure of the existing F-35 management structure, which begins immediately.”
    A hybrid structure, where separate service-run F-35 program offices report to a Joint Program Executive Officer, a position currently held by JPO head Vice Adm. Mat Winter.
    The full transition, where the services will have separate program offices and program executives that will report to the military department’s acquisition head. “The full transition dates will be determined through a conditions-based detailed implementation plan with risk-informed criteria,” he said.

...eventual dissolution of the JPO could make it more difficult for international customers to interface with the program [emphasis added].

The JPO currently functions as a one-stop shop for foreign buyers — some of which, like Japan, are considering buying more than one variant of the aircraft. The office also oversees the work done by final assembly lines in Japan and Italy, as well as at sustainment hubs around the world.

Evans said that the department will continue to work closely with F-35 international partners, but acknowledged that “in the longer-term, current international agreements will need to be updated and transition to service-based agreements. The phased implementation approach allows time to work through these changes in close coordination with our international partners in a way that maintains our strong commitment to them and our partnership.”..
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/04/03/pentagon-formulating-plan-to-move-f-35-management-from-central-office-to-services/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Not quite out of the woods:

F-35 Sustainment Challenges Mount As Global Fleet Grows

When F-35 pilot Maj. Matt Strongin broke the plastic clip that connects his mask to his helmet, he was told that due to a backlog it would take two weeks to ship a replacement clip from Texas.

In the meantime, Strongin, chief F-35 instructor at the 56th Training Sqdn. at Luke AFB, Arizona, was facing the prospect of two weeks on the ground.

Because one of the pilots was on sick leave for two months, the unit had a helmet to spare. Strongin reasoned that he could just take the clip from the absent pilot’s helmet and screw it onto his own until the new part came in.

But no, that would be against policy, he was told by higher ups.

Strongin did not let the issue drop. He sent his request up the chain to the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), which issued an “exception” to the policy and updated the software of the Autonomic Logistics and Information System (ALIS) to reflect the change. He was able to fly the next day.

This specific problem was resolved quickly, but that is not often the case. Across the F-35 enterprise, operators are struggling with severe maintenance challenges of which the most critical are a spare parts shortage, insufficient repair capacity and excessive glitches in the ALIS logistics system that tracks the health of the fleet. Meanwhile at the production level, suppliers and skilled workers are making mistakes that slow down the manufacturing process before a complete aircraft even comes off the line.

The sustainment challenges are emerging at a pivotal time for the program, with F-35 pilot training ramping up, international deliveries accelerating, and the Navy on track to achieve initial operational capability of its F-35Cs in 2019. As the global F-35 fleet is poised to triple by 2021, government and industry officials are facing mounting pressure to solve these challenges—and fast.

Reports emerged recently that the U.S. Air Force—the F-35’s single largest customer—would be forced to cut as many as 590 F-35s from the overall buy, or one-third of the force, if sustainment costs do not come down [emphasis added]. The government-industry team must find a way to reduce operations and sustainment (O&S) costs or F-35 customers will have to make “tough decisions,” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said ominously during a recent event in Washington.

The Air Force is working with the JPO to reduce overall O&S costs by 38% over the next 10 years, or about $3.8 billion a year, Wilson says. And in the field, the Air Force aims to get the cost to sustain the F-35 down to that of sustaining a legacy F-16, according to Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein...
http://aviationweek.com/defense/f-35-sustainment-challenges-mount-global-fleet-grows

If the RCAF ever ends up with the F-35A it may by happenstance be a financial and operational blessing that we took so long to make the acquisition.

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Cloud Cover]

Nor can the bumblebee fly......

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/03/10/curtain_call_for_the_aircraft_that_helped_eliminate_terrorists_113179.html

The Predator/Reaper development was the antithesis of DOTE development.  And yet both the development, and the various upgrades worked and provided yeoman service.

In the battle between paper and metal I suggest the paperworkers are the ones that need to rethink their processes.

I don’t understand this F35 not being ready for combat line being pushed by the various entities tasked with oversight of the program. There are USAF and USMC F35 in South Korea right now, loaded for bear.  As for the spare parts plastic clip issue, that’s just par for the course with anything that has moving parts or where humans can break something.  Reading between the lines, it seems the parts and maintenance contracts, like so many other things these days, are over lawyered and fail to pragmatically address the reality of these machines.  “ Don’t do X without a change order and some tracking system code changes, or we’ll have trouble with the manufacturer”.  The customer is a war fighter with a fairly important job to do, whatever happened to that being a priority?

 

[MarkOttawa]

Factor favouring F-35A for RCAF?  If a Canadian gov't ever agrees to take part in...

F-35 Ready For Missile Defense By 2025: MDA Chief
"I'd say six to seven years to essentially work out the Concept of Operations (and) develop the capabilities," Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves told the Senate.

F-35 Joint Strike Fighters could detect, track, and, possibly, even shoot down ballistic missiles by 2025, the Missile Defense Agency director told Congress this morning [April 11].

“I’d say six to seven years to essentially work out the Concept of Operations (and) develop the capabilities — (whether) it’s sensor-based or a new fast missile that’s hung on the bottom of an F-35 for the BMDS (Ballistic Missile Defense) mission — integrate those capabilities, test them, and deliver them into a theater of operations,” Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves told the Senate appropriations subcommittee on defense. “We see that deployed capability as, if not a game changer, then a significant contributor to future ballistic missile defense.”

This is the first time we’ve heard a senior official say how long it might take to incorporate F-35s into missile defense. The military has tested out the concept in the past. In 2014, an F-35 infrared sensor installed on a surrogate aircraft successfully tracked a launch and transmitted tracking data over the military’s standard Link-16 network. In 2016, an actual Marine Corps F-35B detected and tracked a missile, then passed the data over the Navy’s NIFC-CA network to the Aegis missile defense system, which shot the threat down.

So F-35 fans have been talking up the plane’s missile defense potential. Congressman Duncan Hunter boasted last year that the stealth fighter could not only track ICBMs — whose fiery launch is “like an Act of God,” hard to miss — but also shoot them down with its current air-to-air missile. “You can shoot down missiles coming out of North Korea in the boost phase with CAPS (Combat Air Patrols) of F-35s and AMRAAMs, and I’ve got a map to show it,” he declared.

Maybe. The AMRAAM missile isn’t designed to chase an ICBM into space, so it would have a narrow window to kill one before it escaped the atmosphere. Greaves’s wording suggests using the F-35 to shoot ICBMs might require developing “a new fast missile,” which would take years to develop.

What the F-35 can already do is act as a sensor...
https://breakingdefense.com/2018/04/f-35-ready-for-missile-defense-by-2025-mda-chief/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Getting there:

F-35 program office wraps up final developmental flight test

The F-35 joint strike fighter on Wednesday flew its final developmental flight test, effectively capping off the development phase of the program 11 years after the aircraft took its first flight in 2006.

The F-35, built by Lockheed Martin, will now move into operational test and evaluation conducted by the Pentagon’s independent testing office. Once finished, the systems development and demonstration (SDD) portion of the program will officially be complete and the F-35 will enter full rate production [emphasis added].

Vice Adm. Mat Winter, F-35 joint program executive officer, said Wednesday at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space conference that he expected to finish the final SDD flight test this week “and potentially even today. … That is a significant milestone for this program.”

That test point — during which the Navy test aircraft CF-2 collected data while carrying 2,000-pound GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles as an external load — occurred on April 11 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

Over the entire test program, the JPO was responsible for “conducting more than 9,200 sorties, accumulating over 17,000 flight hours, and executing more than 65,000 test points to verify the design, durability, software, sensors, weapons capability and performance for all three F-35 variants,” Winter said in a statement on Thursday [April 12]...

The latest problem, revolving around corrosion in fastener holes, has been resolved technically, but the JPO and Lockheed still are disputing who should pay for the fix. The Defense Department has stalled deliveries until then.

Although SDD flight tests have ended, F-35 flight testing will continue as part of follow-on modernization efforts called Continuous Capability Development and Delivery, or C2D2, the JPO stated in a news release.

However, that strategy has also been somewhat controversial...
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/04/12/f-35-program-office-wraps-up-final-developmental-flight-test

/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Kirkhill]

Nope.  Not getting there.  Got there. 

Now we're into the "warranty" discussions. 

Ruddy lawyers, accountants and purchasing agents.... got nothing better to do than chase honest engineers to their graves.  ;D

 

[a_majoor]

Factor favouring F-35A for RCAF?  If a Canadian gov't ever agrees to take part in...

Mark
Ottawa

The F-35 can act as the sensor, if a version of the SM-3 or SM-6 Standard can be carried and launched from patrolling F-18 Superhornets or F-15 Eagles.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Very interesting but...(further links at original):

Japan Wants Lockheed Martin to Make an F-22/F-35 Hybrid
Sources tell Reuters that Japan is discussing plans for a new air superiority fighter with international contractors.

Having scrapped plans to build a new fighter jet of its own, Japan's defense ministry has reportedly inquired to multiple international defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin and Boeing, about collaborating on a new stealth jet. Sources tell Reuters that Lockheed Martin is planning to respond to Japan's request with a formal proposal for a new fighter that “would combine the F-22 and F-35 and could be superior to both of them."

Exactly how such a proposal could move forward is unclear. U.S. law bans the export of F-22 Raptor technology, so Lockheed would need to receive an exemption from the federal government—and its not clear whether they'd get it. Reuters says Lockheed has met with Japanese defense ministry officials to discuss the new jet design and is planning to submit the official proposal after receiving permission from the U.S. government. A Lockheed Martin spokeswoman told Reuters:

    “We look forward to exploring options for Japan’s F-2 replacement fighter in cooperation with both the Japanese and U.S. governments. Our leadership and experience in 5th generation aircraft can be leveraged to cost-effectively provide capabilities to meet Japan’s future security needs."

Japan has been working to build a new fifth-generation fighter called the F-3 to replace and support its F-2 and F-15J fighter jets, which are a variants of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15 Eagle, respectively. However, the high costs of the F-3 program led the country to seek international cooperation on the project instead.

Another source told Reuters that any new jet built with international partners would need to include engines, radar, and other components built in Japan. The nation is already planning to purchase around 60 F-35s to modernize its air force, but the country also wants to acquire a new air superiority fighter by 2030 to deter Chinese and Russian jets. Japan hoped to buy F-22 Raptors more than a decade ago, but the 1998 ban on F-22 technology exports thwarted those plans and left Japan looking for another way to improve its air superiority capabilities.

“We are considering domestic development, joint development and the possibility of improving existing aircraft performance, but we have not yet come to any decision,” a Japanese Ministry of Defense spokesman told Reuters...
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a19871450/japan-lockheed-martin-f-22-f-35-hybrid/

Might President Trump's priorities work in favour of the idea:

Trump sees big arms sales as quick fix for Japan trade deficit
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-Relations/Trump-sees-big-arms-sales-as-quick-fix-for-Japan-trade-deficit

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Conclusion of this piece, note Trump/Abe factor:

Lockheed Should Restart the Raptor Line If Japan Wants An F-22-F-35 Hybrid 
Geopolitical trends, security concerns, and industrial and combat aircraft capability needs, could give birth to an American-Japanese Raptor 2.0.

...keep in mind Donald Trump's extremely close relationship with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Approving Japan to get 'the very best' while also lining the pockets of big defense contractors seems like a very attractive proposition for Donald Trump. And it seems pretty clear that when it comes to weapons export to Japan, Trump is willing and ready to give Abe what he wants.

We will watch how this story develops closely, but if the Pentagon was smart, they would embrace an upgraded F-22 restart with Japan, and if Tokyo is willing to foot the majority of the bill for doing so, the USAF would be nuts not to take advantage of it.
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/20288/japans-interest-in-an-f-22-f-35-hybrid-could-mean-a-restart-for-f-22-production-line

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

An F-22 hybrid possibly available when Canada comes calling, providing a true air superiority fighter for the mix, and potentially making the Libs self-inflicted "no-F-35" blahs disappear?

 

[MarkOttawa]

Oldgateboatdriver:

An F-22 hybrid possibly available when Canada comes calling, providing a true air superiority fighter for the mix, and potentially making the Libs self-inflicted "no-F-35" blahs disappear?

'Twould be nice--but not available at a cost any Canadian gov't will pay.

Mark
Ottawa

 

[dapaterson]

Oldgateboatdriver:

'Twould be nice--but not available at a cost any Canadian gov't will pay.

Mark
Ottawa

Depends.  If Japan pays the tooling / startup costs, and the US adds on to the buy, per unit cost could get quite attractive.  And, as always, cost depends on what you include... if other costs are buried elsewhere, it could get downright affordable.

 

[Loachman]

Bring that Bourdeau guy in as another partner and convince Lockheed Martin to call it Arrow II. Who could resist that?

Just hope that the Conservatives don't cancel it in 2019 like they cancelled Arrow I sixty years previously.

 

[MarkOttawa]

German gov't has made it pretty clear it favours Typhoon even though many in Luftwaffe want F-35:

German defense ministry gets bids for Tornado fighter jet replacement

The German defense ministry on Tuesday received bids from Airbus and the U.S. government - representing Lockheed Martin and Boeing - for the replacement of its fleet of 90 ageing Tornado fighter jets that were developed in the 1960s.

The competition, worth billions of euros to the winning bidder, could have consequences for a separate, fledgling Franco-German program to develop a next generation Eurofighter that will eventually replace the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Airbus is pitching the Eurofighter, a joint program with Britain’s BAE Systems and Italy’s Leonardo, and says it could take over the Tornado missions when that aircraft is phased out starting in 2025.

Buying more Eurofighters would also allow Germany to streamline maintenance costs since it already has a fleet of 130 Eurofighters, the company said.

The ministry plans to give priority to the European warplane to retain aircraft expertise in Europe and continue use of a proven system, but it has also asked for information about Lockheed’s F-35 fighter jet and the F-15E and F/A-18E/F jets built by Boeing.

The ministry in December publicly rebuked German Air Force chief Lieutenant General Karl Muellner after he indicated a preference for the F-35 as the only aircraft that met the military’s stealth requirements. Muellner is now due to retire in May.

The ministry has said it will only make a final decision on the Tornado replacement after a comprehensive assessment of data provided by the aircraft manufacturers.

Airbus defense chief Dirk Hoke told German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag this weekend that a decision to buy the F-35 would kill off plans by France and Germany to develop a new European fighter...
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-airshow-fighter/german-defense-ministry-gets-bids-for-tornado-fighter-jet-replacement-idUSKBN1HV16O

More on that new fighter--note BAE/Brexit angle:

Airbus and Dassault join forces to build next fighter aircraft

Rivals Airbus and Dassault Aviation have struck a deal to develop and produce Europe's next generation of fighter aircraft.

Franco-German Airbus is part of the consortium behind Eurofighter, while France's Dassault makes the Rafale jet.

The two companies said their European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) would replace the existing planes by 2040.

They said the deal would secure European sovereignty and technological leadership in military aviation.

The French and German governments have yet to set out their exact requirements for the programme, which will also include the manufacture of drones and communications technology. And the two companies have yet to decide which of them would take the lead role in the huge project.

Airbus Defence and Space chief executive Dirk Hoke said that whether the French and German governments involve Britain in future projects would likely depend on the conditions around its exit from the European Union.

BAE Systems, Britain's biggest manufacturer, is a key part of the Eurofighter consortium.

Mr Hoke said: "Never before has Europe been more determined to safeguard and foster its political and industrial autonomy and sovereignty in the defence sector....
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43895648

Mark
Ottawa

 

[tomahawk6]

Whatever the final plane design it will still be expensive.

 

[MarkOttawa]

For the moment, cold weather concerns for ALIS:

F-35 deployment to Japan hit with sustainment problems

Since the US Marine Corps’ deployment of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan in January 2017 the aircraft has been hit with an assortment of sustainment problems.

Many problems plaguing the first overseas deployment of the F-35 are logistical in nature and are related to the aircraft’s distance from maintenance and parts manufacturing facilities in the USA, according to a 25 April report titled “DOD Needs to Share F-35 Operational Lessons Across the Military Services” by the Government Accountability Office.

There are 16 F-35Bs in the VMFA-121 deployed at Iwakuni.

Issues with the F-35B supply chain include lengthy travel times for parts, inaccurate estimated delivery dates, delays at customs and difficulty shipping Autonomic Logistics Information System equipment, known as ALIS.

For instance, the Marine Corps learned that it needs to take “into consideration weather concerns when shipping ALIS equipment,” GAO said. “While the aircraft were transferred to Japan through Alaska, ALIS was moved through Hawaii because of concerns about how the freezing temperature would affect the logistics system.”

Other issues with sustaining the F-35 in Japan include long repair times, shortages and poor reliability of certain aircraft parts.

As the A, B, and C variants of the F-35 Lightning II are stationed around the world, the GAO suggested in its report that the office of the F-35 program executive officer, Vice Admiral Mat Winter, create a formal communication mechanism for the Marine Corps to share its operational best practices and lessons learned with the US Navy and Air Force.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/f-35-deployment-to-japan-hit-with-sustainment-proble-448025/

GAO report here:

Document: Pentagon Not Sharing Operational Lessons from F-35 Deployment
https://news.usni.org/2018/04/25/document-pentagon-not-sharing-operational-lessons-f-35-deployment

Mark
Ottawa

 

[tomahawk6]

There was an Osprey today that made a landing in Japan due to a warning light.Just lika a computer to mess things up. ;D

https://www.stripes.com/news/third-marine-corps-aircraft-in-a-week-makes-emergency-landing-in-japan-1.524012

F35 related:
https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/marine-corps-f-35b-stealth-fighter-makes-emergency-landing-at-japanese-air-base-1.523836

 

[MarkOttawa]

And now a Congressional Research Service report (our PBO puny by comparison):

Report to Congress on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program
...
The Administration’s proposed FY2019 [starting Oct. 1 2017] defense budget requested about $10.7 billion in procurement and R&D funding for the F-35 program. This would fund the procurement of 48 F35As for the Air Force, 20 F-35Bs for the Marine Corps, 9 F-35Cs for the Navy, and continuing development.

FY2018 defense authorization act: The FY2018 defense authorization bill funded F-35 procurement at $9.9 billion for 90 aircraft (56 F-35As, 24 F-35Bs, and 10 F-35Cs, an increase of 20 aircraft and $2.4 billion from the Administration’s request), plus $1.5 billion in advance procurement, the requested level. The conference report accompanying the bill included language

    authorizing economic order contracting for up to $661 million in parts for F-35s to be procured in fiscal years 2019 and 2020;
    limiting funds to be expended on F-35 follow-on modernization (Block 4 software) pending a previously-required report that contains the basic elements of an acquisition program baseline for that modernization, and;
    requiring the congressional defense committees be notified if Congress takes any action that would delay development of F-35 dual-capable aircraft (meaning those able to deliver nuclear weapons).

FY2018 defense appropriations bill: The final omnibus budget bill funded F-35 procurement at $10.2 billion for 90 aircraft (56 F-35As, 24 F-35Bs, and 10 F-35Cs, an increase of 20 aircraft and $2.6 billion over the Administration’s request [emphasis added]), plus $1.5 billion in advance procurement, the requested level...
https://news.usni.org/2018/04/26/report-congress-f-35-joint-strike-fighter-program

Plus foreign orders.

Mark
Ottawa