F-35 Lightning II developments

[stipjes]

This week we saw a few F-35's.
The 10-5009 and 10-5010 landed for delivery to the 422TES.


The 168718/VF16 is one of the three that are delivered to Yuma.

[tally]

10-5011/OT and 10-5012/OT are on their delivery flight as Strike 31/32 to Nellis at this time with LMTAS F-16 84-1234 as chase Strike 33 (Monday, Mar 11).

Tally.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[wamovements]

Only 5012 & the F16 made it to Nellis till now!

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[tally]

5011 had an IFE (In Flight Emergency) and landed in Lubbock, TX while on route.

I say IFE, however LMTAS might consider it more a precautionary landing rather then IFE.

Tally.

[Richard from Rotterdam]

Interesting read: http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 558138.xml

Kendall: F-35 Production Ramp-Up Decision A Tough Call
By Amy Butler abutler@aviationweek.com
Source: AWIN First

Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall says he hopes to ramp up production of the single-engine, stealthy F-35, made by Lockheed Martin, but he will only do so if adequate progress is made in testing on the troubled program.

Production is slated to go as high as 44 aircraft in fiscal 2014 and then 66 aircraft in 2015 for the Pentagon — up from 29 — if all goes well. Testing thus far has been marred by propulsion problems, durability issues with some F-35 parts and faulty helmets. The tailhook for the F-35C carrier version is also a problem.

“The big decision for me on the F-35 will be the decision on the FY 15 budget: Do we ramp up or not?,” Kendall told reporters at a speech during the Credit Suisse/McAleese Defense Programs conference March 12. “I put two years of flat [production] into the budget last year and I did it as a compromise between stopping entirely and the current plan at the time. That had a big impact on Lockheed. A lot of business slid off on that. I don’t want to do that again. I want to get the rate up if I can.”

Lockheed Martin, however, must deliver on its flight testing and software programs.

“If they stay on track, then we are going to go head and ramp up. The fate of the program is in Lockheed’s hands.”

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the F-35 program executive officer, says the per-unit price is coming down with each progressive low-rate, initial production (LRIP) contract; the contractor is in LRIP 5. However, the aircraft in LRIP 4 is slated to cost about 7% more than those in the previous lot, Bogdan says.

Bogdan and Lockheed Martin expect to complete negotiations on LRIPs 6 and 7 this summer.

[Richard from Rotterdam]

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 558076.xml

F-35 Chief Considers $80M-90M Unit Cost Possible
By Amy Butler abutler@aviationweek.com
Source: AWIN First


Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney are improving production processes for the F-35 to the extent that they could manage to sell the anticipated 3,000 of the tri-service, multinational fighters, says Program Executive Officer U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan.

“That number is starting to get back into the sweet spot on the curve,” he says of the contractors’ costs, adding that the per-unit price is heading to where the “partners want it to be,” in the range of $80 million to $90 million.

The production lines had been riddled with what officials call “traveling work,” meaning tasks that cannot be done in their designated work stations owing to parts or supply issues, forcing workers to delay them until later in the assembly process.

Now, however, the companies are “doing a very good job recently of taking problems and quirks out of the production line such that it is running smoother.”

However, cost is highly dependent on production numbers, which are soft at this point. Bogdan notes that when Turkey, a production partner, deferred its aircraft two years from low-rate-initial-production (LRIP) lot 7, the remaining aircraft grew in price by $1 million apiece.

“We are all going to hang together or we are all going to hang separately,” Bogdan told an audience at the Credit Suisse/McAleese Defense Programs Conference in Washington March 12.

Meanwhile, Bogdan plans in the “next year or so” to release a request for proposals for management of F-35 training centers. He says he thinks he can save up to one-third of the cost of managing these centers by introducing competition into the process. Lockheed Martin and its primary subcontractors are invited to compete. “I have their attention,” Bogdan says, in terms of the price and deal they are currently discussing with the government.

Prior to releasing the request for proposals, Bogdan says the Joint Program Office is working to ensure it has proper data rights to allow for a competition. The way forward will depend partly on how cooperative Lockheed and Pratt are, he says, adding that they “have lawyers” detailed to protect their businesses.

Likewise, Bogdan sees competition farther down the road for managing support equipment and the fighter’s global supply chain.

[Coati]

EDWARDS BEGINS F-35 OPERATIONAL TESTING
March 14, 2013

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., March 13 -- The U.S. Air Force Edwards Air Force Base issued the following press release:

Edwards entered a new phase of testing on the F-35 Lightning II program with the arrival March 6 of the first two operational test aircraft.

Team members from Air Combat Command's 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, a tenant unit here, will determine how to best tactically operate the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant of the fifth-generation fighter.

"As part of the Joint Operational Test Team, we take the aircraft hardware and software released from developmental test, our training from the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin [AFB, Fla.], the administrative and logistics support we get from the Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin, and we integrate all of these disparate elements with maintenance practices, tactics, techniques and procedures required to create an incredibly lethal weapon system that can go out and win the nation's wars," said Lt. Col. Steven J. Tittel, 31st TES commander.


"We've got a brand new tool with a whole new set of capabilities that has never been used by the combat air forces. We have to take that tool and find out the best way to utilize it, to go out and defeat an enemy on the battlefield," he continued.

With the F-35A slated to replace the A-10 and F-16, pilots selected for F-35 operational test and evaluation were hand-picked from among the best in the Air Force and bring a wide variety of expertise to the program.

"Basically, this jet is going to encompass all of our air-to-ground roles and including some of our air-to-air roles as well. What they wanted was expertise from all those different platforms that will eventually be replaced by the F-35," said Maj. Matthew L. Bell, 31st TES Operations Flight commander.

"The bottom line is we have all these jets with specialized capabilities and you want to make sure that if you're eventually going to replace these airframes with one jet, none of that corporate knowledge is lost," he added.

Bell, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with more than 1,500 hours in the jet transitioned to the F-35 in December of 2012, bringing extensive knowledge of air-to-ground capabilities, close-air-support, and forward-air-control to the operational test and evaluation program.

Five additional pilots will be working alongside Bell with F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon experience that adds a dimension of air-to-air expertise and an in-depth knowledge of deep strike capabilities.

"We did that intentionally. The F-35 is designed to replace different legacy aircraft throughout the fleet. So we pulled together as much experience from different mission sets as we possibly could so we have a good baseline for evaluating the aircraft across all the missions it will be expected to perform in the future," said Tittel.

Together, their corporate knowledge will help shape combat tactics of the F-35A.

"We're not necessarily trying to make this jet operate exactly like an F-15, F-16 or an A-10; we're trying to figure out how to make an F-35 operate tactically. We're trying to combine all that knowledge into a new set of tactics for the U.S.' newest fighter and make sure that those tactics all make sense," said Bell.

The Air Force also recruited top maintainers to support the F-35 operational test and evaluation efforts, who have been diligently preparing for the work ahead.

"We have a lot of top-notch maintenance troops out there that were highly sought after to come into this program. They have been going through a lot of training either across the ramp with the 461st Flight Test Squadron or down at Eglin AFB [Fla.], with a lot of hands-on academics," said Bell. "Maintenance is out there and they've been aching to get their hands on the jets for a long time."

In total for the 31st TES, there are approximately 150 personnel involved in operational test and evaluation for the F-35A. The 31st TES has grown over the past two years to include nearly 250 personnel; who can be found working in the combined test forces located throughout the base.

They also work on programs such as the B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper; in addition to the F-35 Lightning II.

While formalized testing is approximately a year and a half away, the necessary steps along the way will continue to benefit the F-35 operational test and evaluation program.

According to Bell, once the ground engine runs for maintenance are completed, he expects the flying to begin shortly thereafter. Initial flying operations will help pilots become familiar with their new airframe.

"Regardless of the experience we had before, this is still a new jet. In my mind, there is a large spin-up time to become experienced enough for the high-tempo scenarios we're going to be involved in," said Bell. "While actual formal testing will begin in about a year and a half, everything that we're going to be doing up to that point will benefit the program."

Formalized testing will evaluate the production-representative F-35A, as well as support equipment and the logistics supply system in an operationally representative environment; with the ultimate goal of determining whether or not the program is suitable and effective in a real-world combat environment.

It encompasses the aircraft's survivability, as well as the ability to support and execute flight operations and maintenance at home and in deployed locations.

"We are the Air Force element of the larger joint and international test effort that will occur here at Edwards to get the F-35 through its initial test and evaluation, both for the Block 2 and Block 3 software," said Tittel.

"We're very much tactics developers, but we're still evaluating the aircraft from an operational perspective; from the time we get it to the time we finally send it out as a completed product to the combat air forces," he continued.

The men and women of the 31st TES will not only shape the future of air combat tactics for the F-35A, but they will ensure that the program is effective, sustainable and efficient in the real-world combat environment - a top priority for the Air Force of tomorrow.

"The Joint Operational Test Team has moved into a new phase. What we do here over the next few years will absolutely play a large part in determining the jet's effectiveness in real-world operations for the next 30 to 40 years, at least," said Tittel. "It's a privilege to be on the leading edge of integrating new technologies into a combat airframe and then releasing it out to the combat air forces." For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com


Copyright 2013 HT Media Ltd.
All Rights Reserved

http://www.avionics-intelligence.com/ne ... sting.html

[tally]

CF-07 168734/NJ-102 slated for VFA-101 took to the skies over North Texas for the first time Thursday, Mar 14.

Tally.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Coati]

CF-07 took to the skies over North Texas for the first time Thursday, Mar 14.

Tally.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Nice Tally! Code NJ-102? And BuNo 168734?

Two potential new F-35 customers (one competition and one final evaluation):

DENMARK
Denmark reopened the fighter competition which was frozen in 2010. Race between JAS-39 (NG?), F/A-18E/F, F-35A and EF2000 Eurofighter. Decision somewhere in 2015. Number of aircraft about 30 (originally 48).

http://www.defensenews.com/article/2013 ... /303140009

SINGAPORE
Singapore expected to order F-35 fighter jets soon - sources 14 Mar 2013 By John O'Callaghan

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/1 ... =worldNews

"(Reuters) - Singapore is in the "final stages of evaluating" the F-35 to upgrade its air force, a process U.S. sources say should turn quickly into orders for several dozen of the stealthy warplanes that have been beset by cost overruns and delivery delays.

Singapore, a major business and shipping hub with the best-equipped military in Southeast Asia, is expected to submit a "letter of request" soon for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, said two U.S. government officials who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter....

...Singapore became a minor partner in the programme in 2003, along with Israel, which has ordered 19 of the jets so far.

Singapore's F-35 order is expected to include the Marine Corps' B-model, which can take off from shorter runways and lands like a helicopter, said a source familiar with that variation of the plane.

Due to the city-state's small size and limited air space, its air force trains its fighter pilots in the United States and its helicopter pilots in Australia...."

[Coati]

http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Na ... 63be15a62c

Here a picture of CF-07, indeed 168734/NJ-102

[tally]

BF-27 168725/VK-07 slated for VMFA-121 took to the skies over North Texas for the first time Monday, Mar 18.

Tally.

[Jmillsf18]

I think CF-07 flew in the morning and not in the afternoon like nick peterman said. Saw both the Lockheed F-16 and Cf-07 taxi back to their hangars in the morning.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Starfighter_F-104G]

any first flight date for VK-04 / VK-05 / VK-06?

[Melchior Timmers]

any first flight date for VK-04 / VK-05 / VK-06?

VK-05 & VK-06 are reported on 06mar13

[Piet Luijken]

3/18/2013

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- The F-35 Lightning II program here
entered a new phase of testing with the arrival of the first two operational
test aircraft March 6. SN: 09-5005 & –5006.

Team members from the 53rd Wing's 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, a
tenant unit here, will determine how to best tactically operate the F-35A
conventional takeoff and landing variant of the fifth-generation fighter.
Another 53rd Wing squadron, the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis
AFB, Nev., also received F-35As and will take part in the operational test
process of the new aircraft.