F-35 Lightning info

[Lawman]

Israel's F-35I Adir gets customized.

http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-israel-to-double-attack-range-of-f-35-stealth-fighter-1001068513

and from http://www.deagel.com/Strike-and-Fighter-Aircraft/F-35I-Adir_a000547004.aspx

The Israel Air Force (IAF) F-35I Adir is a variant of the F-35A Lightning II featuring some unique modifications required by the Jewish state despite the initial refusal by the USAF to allow such initiative. Israel will integrate its own electronic warfare systems such as sensors and countermeasures designed and produced domestically. The F-35I's main computer will be provided with Israeli electronics. Additionally, the F-35I will feature an external jamming pod, new air-to-air missiles and guided bombs in the internal weapon bays. Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) will be the major Israeli contractor involved in the F-35I program supplying avionics and electronic warfare equipment. Besides, IAI may play a key role developing a proposed two-seat F-35 as well as conformal fuel tanks for the F-35I aircraft. The F-35I may achieve Initial Operational Capability (IOC) by 2017-2018 with some 75/100 airplanes to be procured over the following decade. As of late 2014, Israel seems to be targeting only 50 airplanes by 2020.

For 50 planes, those features will be pricey but they may be hedging for the future.

From another article at aviation week, http://aviationweek.com/awin/israel-us-agree-450-million-f-35-ew-work

We think the stealth protection will be good for 5-10 years, but the aircraft will be in service for 30-40 years, so we need EW capabilities [on the F-35] that can be rapidly improved,” a senior Israeli air force (IAF) official tells Aviation Week. “The basic F-35 design is OK. We can make do with adding integrated software.”

Should we be looking at this too? More fuel, additional EW capability...

Anybody surprised by this hasn't paid attention to every other aircraft bought by the Israelis over the last 30 years. Look at a picture of a Boeing built AH-64D.... Then look at the Israeli version of it. It starts very quickly looking like a different helicopter.

The Israelis have an outstanding domestic avionics and weapons development industry. They however need to keep that monster fed so plumbing jets with their own stuff just makes sense. They want to be able to stick their bombs/missiles/Python Vs not be subject to the changing winds of arms regulation. As for additional gas and EW remember The IAF doesn't have near the support capability that we do.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Japan do the same thing. Again working with their 60s some of the guys from Sikorsky should take notes because they had stuff years before we were asking for it on the Mike models we are building today.

[Clark Griswold]

Anybody surprised by this hasn't paid attention to every other aircraft bought by the Israelis over the last 30 years. Look at a picture of a Boeing built AH-64D.... Then look at the Israeli version of it. It starts very quickly looking like a different helicopter.

The Israelis have an outstanding domestic avionics and weapons development industry. They however need to keep that monster fed so plumbing jets with their own stuff just makes sense. They want to be able to stick their bombs/missiles/Python Vs not be subject to the changing winds of arms regulation. As for additional gas and EW remember The IAF doesn't have near the support capability that we do.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Japan do the same thing. Again working with their 60s some of the guys from Boeing should take notes because they had stuff years before we were asking for it on the Mike models we are building today.

Not surprised, just throwing that into the conversation.  Like the customers you mentioned (Israel & Japan), they don't make the aircraft, they make it better...  Smaller nations with tighter control and integration with their defense industries tend to make better choices with finite resources and have less political bullshit interfere with weapons development, if we lived with the existential threats that Israel or Japan do in close proximity, I imagine the cost overruns, schedule delays, distribution of sub-contracts to every possible congressional district, requirements inflation, etc... would come to an end or at least get minimized.   

I put negative 0.69% chance of this happening but the USAF buying an Israeli improved two seater for the Wild Weasel mission would seem smart, to have a dedicated USAF SEAD/DEAD/EW platform if stealth becomes less relevant as improved sensors become capable of detecting at longer ranges lower RCS targets.  Degrade the EM environment, survivability goes up.

Sidebar, the IAF may yet buy V-22s, http://www.timesofisrael.com/f-35s-f-15s-ospreys-on-israeli-shopping-list-of-desired-us-military-materiel/, that may get some tweaks also...

[di1630]

Anyone else find it funny/sad that we give Isreal the money to buy F-35s while we have to shrink our air force.

[Lawman]

Anyone else find it funny/sad that we give Isreal the money to buy F-35s while we have to shrink our air force.

Meh, you pretty much just described every FMS program ever.

At least with Israel they are gonna buy enough copies of it to make it worth while in the long run money game.

It's the countries that buy a token set piece of aircraft/etc to fly around the flagpole with FMS programs that bug me.

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[FishBowl]

In this video: guy talks about stuff.

I wish the video poster didn't chop the interview to pieces. It seems he is just trying his angle at gotcha journalism.

 

[Lawman]

While this isn't going to have any A/C model implications...

First full up flight student winged and heading to B models

[Clark Griswold]

While this isn't going to have any A/C model implications...

First full up flight student winged and heading to B models

Good luck and congrats Lt. Zehrung

https://www.f35.com/news/detail/first-usmc-student-selected-to-fly-f-35b-earns-his-wings

 

 

[Clark Griswold]

Another milestone for the program:

The first F-35 delivered outside the U.S. was taken on charge by the Italian Air Force.

http://theaviationist.com/2015/12/04/first-italian-f-34-accepted-by-itaf/

With that, built and delivered outside the US, we might be able to get another partner in the program and give the PLAAF a counter balance in the region:

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/coming-soon-russian-su-35s-pakistan-american-f-35s-india-13838

http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2015/08/idn-take-why-india-should-buy-f-35.html

 

[StoleIt]

 

I guess they got the sensor's working.

[di1630]

The technology looks cool, but I'm still waiting in long an answer for why we need a lot of the visual stuff. The F-35 is supposed to stand off from threats, deliver PGMs, shoot bvr....which of those functions needs to look through the floorboards vs can't be done with symbology on the mfd. I dare say the typical f-35 mission will require very little need to look outside the cockpit. If it needs to go overhead the threat, visually acquire the target or be at the merge, we can send in the legacy aircraft.

[Jaded]

The f-16 was supposed to be a day only VFR interceptor. It's good if we build our aircraft to be flexible enough for unforseen circumstances. 

 

Also, there aren't going to be any legacy aircraft left - that's the whole point of the f-35, right? 

[Champ Kind]

 

Also, there aren't going to be any legacy aircraft left - that's the whole point of the f-35, right? 

I think by the time we see that, 5th gen will actually be "legacy".

[brabus]

I love the "turns night into day" propaganda in the video...completely oversold.  That said, there's a lot more to DAS than simply "you can see through the floor!"

Champ nailed it on force composition.  4th gen assets are projected out to 2040+...the F-35 crowd will have the last laugh when all the Vipers and Eagles are 3g limited because they have 20K hours on the airframe.  It won't be a problem though, since I'm sure the 6th gen acquisition process will go really well.

[xaarman]

Friend posted this on Facebook, can't stop laughing.

 

Excelsior!

 

[viper154]

[Clark Griswold]

We can't even get out propaganda right

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[ThreeHoler]

They misspelled "Lightning."

[Clark Griswold]

Ghost in the machine.

short version  

http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2016/02/f-35s-terrifying-bug-list/125638/?oref=d-channelriver 

long version

http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2015/pdf/dod/2015f35jsf.pdf  

LM made a pitch to the Indian Navy (article didn't specify B or C model) for the Indian Indigenous Aircraft Carrier project (old article but grist for the mill)

http://www.indiastrategic.in/topstories462.htm

 

Edited February 6, 2016 by Clark Griswold
date check

[TreeA10]

CNTRL/ALT/DEL to get the radar back.....seriously?

 

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/03/11/Another-F-35-Glitch-Requires-Restarting-Radar-System-Flight

[17D_guy]

Cyber.. strikes again.

[Seriously]

10 hours ago, TreeA10 said:

CNTRL/ALT/DEL to get the radar back.....seriously?

 

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/03/11/Another-F-35-Glitch-Requires-Restarting-Radar-System-Flight

This is a stupid article. Radars require restarting sometimes. It's not a big deal. And yes, the fix is to turn it off then back on. 

[TreeA10]

In this day and age of aviation technology which the F-35 allegedly belongs to, you would think that the radar would be able to sort itself out.  For example, during engine start, if a motor on the 787 encounters a problem, it will stop the start, motor the engine, and reattempt start 3 times all by itself before it gives up.  You would think an electronic glitch on the radar would easily trip a function to reboot the system itself.

[Steve Davies]

7 hours ago, TreeA10 said:

In this day and age of aviation technology which the F-35 allegedly belongs to, you would think that the radar would be able to sort itself out.  For example, during engine start, if a motor on the 787 encounters a problem, it will stop the start, motor the engine, and reattempt start 3 times all by itself before it gives up.  You would think an electronic glitch on the radar would easily trip a function to reboot the system itself.

But does it automatically shut down the motor in-flight? My guess is that requires pilot input.

Wouldn't the pilot want to be the final arbiter over whether to shut down the radar? What if he's in the middle of an engagement when it starts to degrade? He may still be getting *some* capability from it.

[Clark Griswold]

Not to defend the F-35 but I will just defend the F-35...

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery...

http://breakingdefense.com/2014/05/chinese-air-chief-tells-lockheed-i-love-the-f-35/

and there is the Norwegian exchange pilot's defense of the 35 in the WVR fight where a lot of arrows have been cast...

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/update-norwegian-pilot-counters-leaked-f-35-dogfi-422552/

I've been critical here on BO . net (FWIW) against the F-35 but I get the overall sense that we are muddling our way with a shit load of money out of the total clusterf*ck that was the early stages of the program and will end up with a good airplane, albeit one that has sucked the oxygen away from a lot of other programs that we needed to fill the wide range of missions we need to do (LAAR, JCA, more 22's, etc...) but it will come to a realistically acceptable solution:  a great airplane (hopefully) but a f'ing awful acquisition program...

[TreeA10]

I don't anything about the F-35 radar and I'd agree with your thought regarding min function vs no function.  However, technology exists for electronic systems to self correct. Why doesn't this radar do that?