F-35 Lightning II developments

[Coati]

Panetta lifts F-35B probation

Jan 20, 2012 By Amy Butler - AviationWeek.com

NAS PATUXENT RIVER, Md.- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ushered the F-35B out of the penalty box, after the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) version of the stealthy fighter was sidelined for more than a year by prior Defense Secretary Robert Gates for poor performance.

Standing in a hangar in front of BF-4, one of two F-35Bs to conduct testing on the USS Wasp amphibious ship last fall, Panetta spoke to a small audience of government and industry workers on the Joint Strike Fighter test team.

“We now believe that because of your work the Stovl variant is demonstrating the kind of performance and maturity that is in line with the other two variants of JSF,” Panetta said here Jan. 20. “The Stovl variant has made — I believe and all of us believe — sufficient progress so that as of today I am lifting the Stovl probation.”

Gates said last year that if the F-35B development project, which at the time was suffering from major testing problems, did not turn around in two years, he would recommend its termination. But he left office last summer, leaving the issue to be addressed by Panetta.

Gates’ announcement was followed quickly by a multibillion-dollar restructuring designed to reduce the concurrency between the development and production phases of the Joint Strike Fighter program. The project also includes the F-35A, designed for conventional takeoff and landing, and the F-35C, designed for use on an aircraft carrier. The restructuring announced early last year also decoupled testing for the F-35B, which at the time was suffering, from the A and C models.

George Little, Panetta’s spokesman, said the secretary’s decision to lift the probation was underpinned by improvements in five key areas: structural shortcomings in the Stovl bulkhead, flutter in the auxiliary inlet door, problems in the lift-fan clutch, unexpected wear and tear on the drive shaft and heating on the roll post actuator.

The utility of Stovl aircraft — namely the AV-8B Harrier — in recent operations in Libya and Afghanistan has “made an impression on him,” one defense official said, speaking about Panetta.

Though the B variant has emerged from probation thus far unscathed in development, defense officials are expecting a reduction in the production numbers of F-35s in the fiscal 2013 budget being sent to Congress Feb. 6. This will extend the production plan and likely drive the per-unit price higher, at least temporarily, until orders go up. Lockheed Martin officials originally said their goal was to produce one fighter a day to reap the benefits of savings with high order numbers.

When the B was put on probation last year, Gates trimmed production of the Stovl version.

The U.S. Marine Corps, which will operate the F-35B, is slated to be the first customer to declare operational use for the aircraft as early as 2016, depending on the pace of testing and training at Eglin AFB, Fla. After the U.K. opted to walk away from the B, Italy is now the only international customer officially planning to buy the aircraft. Nonetheless, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos said he remains “bullish” on the future of the F-35B.

With a much more productive year of testing in 2011 (following the abysmal performance of the Stovl variant in 2010), the test force is looking ahead to weapons separation trials this year, says Lt. Col. Matt Kelly, F-35 flight operations lead at the Patuxent River testing facility. The team has already conducted flights of the F-35B carrying weapons at subsonic and supersonic speeds. Initial flutter testing with the weapon bay doors open in flight have shown no significant problems, Kelly says. The major step, he says, is to drop weapons for the first time, a milestone expected in the second half of the year. Likely candidates will be the 500-lb. Joint Direct Attack Munition and the AIM-120 and AIM-9X missiles.

Thus far, the F-35B has been flown to Mach 1.4.

Kelly says he also expects to begin testing a redesigned tailhook for the F-35C in the second half of the year. The current design encountered problems last year when officials attempted rolling tests and the tailhook skipped over the wire owing to its weight and a problem with the dampening system. CF-3 will be the first test aircraft to have the new tailhook installed.

After the initial ship trials with the F-35B last fall, the B model is not expected to go to sea until 2013, with the C model following in 2015, Kelly said.

Aircraft BF-4 is now operating the Block 1A software and BF-5 is using the 1B software package. Kelly said the Block 2 software, which will be used by the Marine Corps to declare operational capability, is not expected at Patuxent River until late this year.

In addition to having multi-level security, the 1B software also will have new voice recognition technology that will allow the pilot to conduct some hands-free operations, such as switching the radio channels and squawking identification codes to air traffic control. Eventually, Kelly says, pilots hope to use the voice recognition technology for such operations as changing multi-function displays or shifting modes in the aircraft.

Meanwhile, officials at Edwards AFB, Calif., where the F-35A test force is located, conducted their first night flight with the conventional aircraft this week.

Flights at Eglin have not yet started, however. And, the aircraft there are now being used only for ground maintenance training.

http://rpdefense.over-blog.com/article- ... 67465.html

[sdamico]

Another F-35 delivery today (BF-7?) to Eglin/VPS, using callsign LITNG5.

Rgds,
SD

Must be BF-7, that is the only aircraft ready to be delivered on the flight line at Fort Worth right now.

Correct, thanks!

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/p ... eglin.html

SD

[Coati]

(Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department said on Thursday it would slow procurement of the multinational F-35 fighter jet being developed by Lockheed Martin Corp to allow more time for testing and design changes before buying bigger numbers.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter remained a top Pentagon priority and was committed to the "program of record," which calls for total U.S. purchases of 2,443 fighter planes.

Panetta told reporters at a briefing about fiscal 2013 budget changes that the F-35 "remains essential to the future of air superiority."

Reuters has quoted sources familiar with Pentagon budget plans as saying that funding for 179 of 423 planned fighter jets will be cut from the next five-year spending plan and shifted to a later point. Panetta gave no details.

[Coati]

Lockheed says order backlog to cushion tough 2012 Reuters 26 Jan 2012
Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa, Editing by Mark Potter, John Wallace, Phil Berlowitz

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/3-lock ... 57435.html

via http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_viewtopic-t-18013.html

"...NO CHANGE SEEN IN 2012 GUIDANCE
Lockheed Chief Financial Officer Bruce Tanner told reporters that he did not expect to change guidance for 2012 since any Pentagon changes, including cuts to F-35 production plans, would take effect in 2013 and later.

Stevens said the F-35 program was making progress, but the company recognized there was more work to do.

Panetta underscored the importance of the F-35 fighter and said the Defense Department remained committed to the "program of record," which calls for a total U.S. buy of 2,443 jets.

Reuters has quoted sources familiar with Pentagon budget plans as saying that funding for 179 of 423 planned fighter jets will be cut from the next five-year spending plan and shifted to a later point. Panetta gave no details.

The new plan calls for the Pentagon to buy 29 F-35 fighters in fiscal years 2013 and 2014, 44 in 2015, 66 in 2016 and 76 in 2017, according to sources familiar with the budget plan.

Stevens said he still expected the F-35 to account for 20 percent of Lockheed revenue when it reaches full production.

International partners are expected to order a combined 257 F-35 fighters from fiscal 2013 through 2017, with other countries like Japan (EUREX: FMJP.EX - news) and Israel set to buy about 30 fighters.

"We think the demand will remain robust in total," Stevens said, adding that the company was keeping a close eye on how many U.S. and international jets were ordered -- and when...."

[Arjan]

Does anyone know how many squadrons the USAF is planning to outfit with the JSF?

[Coati]

On Feb. 7, 2012, Gen. Claudio Debertolis, head of the agency that is responsible for the procurement of new armaments, has announced that Italy has already ordered the first three Lockheed Martin F-35As for the Italian Air Force.

It is also disclosed that both the AMI and MMI will still receive the F-35B. Rumours are that 30 aircraft less will be ordered (original number 131, so around 100 will still be ordered).

Italy is the 10th country to announce orders for the F-35 (others are: Australia 14, Japan 42, Canada 65, Israel 20, Netherlands 2, UK 3, Turkey 2, Norway 4, US about 100). UK and NL are test aircraft.

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ad-368548/

PICTURES: F-35 bulks up with external weapons load

Lockheed Martin's F-35 has been flown for the first time with an external weapons load, with a conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) aircraft having completed a sortie with two Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles beneath its outboard wing stations.

Flown from Edwards AFB in California on 16 February, the F-35A also carried a load of two Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and two GBU-31 908kg (2,000lb) precision guided-bombs within its two internal weapons bays.

"No weapons were delivered during the mission," said Lockheed, which added that the sortie was focused on "further expanding the programme's flight test envelope".

The test aircraft is also pictured with four additional external weapons stations mounted under its wing, with each of these capable of carrying one 908kg bomb.

According to Lockheed, the F-35A is capable of carrying a maximum load of 8,170kg across its 10 weapons stations. When required to operate as a stealth asset, operators will fly the type with internal stores only.

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Large files
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/d ... 087_58.jpg

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/d ... 087_55.jpg

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/46850

Engine For First Dutch JSF Aircraft
Source: Government of the Netherlands
Published Friday, February 17, 2012 - 07:15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first Joint Strike Fighter designated for the Netherlands has had its jet engine installed. The Netherlands has thus far ordered two of these F-35 fighter aircraft as test aircraft.

Personnel of Lockheed Martin installed the Pratt & Whitney engine, which measures 5.5 by almost 1.5 metres. Production is running according to schedule.

Testing

The aircraft, to which the air force will give tail number F-001, was transferred to the last assembly line in the factory in October 2011.

Lockheed Martin has scheduled ground tests for late March 2012.
That will include testing of the fuel system and the radar equipment. That phase will be followed by the first test flights.

[Piet Luijken]

FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 23, 2012 -- Lockheed Martins [NYSE: LMT] F-35 program continues to build on its 2011 flight test success. For 2012, the
baseline F-35 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) flight test plan calls for the accumulation of 1,001 test flights and 7,873 test points.
However, growth in test point requirements throughout the year is anticipated, and the plan will be adjusted as needed.

As of Feb. 20, the F-35 Lightning II 5th Generation multirole fighter had conducted 114 flight tests and achieved 773 test points. A portion of the
earned test points came from work added to the flight test baseline plan. Lockheed Martin has delivered three F-35s to the Department of Defense (DOD)
year to date.

Since Jan. 1, the F-35 program accomplished several flight test and production milestones:

* On Jan. 9, AF-4, an F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) test aircraft, reached the highest altitude to date in an F-35; 43,000 feet
Mean Sea Level (MSL).

* Lockheed Martin ferried the first two production model F-35B Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL aircraft to the U.S.
Marine Corps on Jan. 11. The aircraft, known as BF-6 and BF-8, are now assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing's Marine Fighter/Attack Training
Squadron 501 residing with the host 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Fla.

* Demonstrating the ongoing maturation of the F-35 integrated sensor suite, AF-3, an F-35A CTOL test jet, completed the first low Distributed
Aperture System (DAS) approach on Jan. 17.

* On Jan. 18, the first night flight in the history of the Lockheed Martin F-35 program was completed at Edwards AFB, Calif. Piloted by Lockheed Martin test pilot Mark Ward, AF-6, an F-35A CTOL test jet, took off at 5:05 p.m. PST and landed after sunset at 6:22 p.m.

* With the ferry flight of BF-7, an F-35B STOVL, Eglin AFB, Fla., became home of the largest F-35 fleet in the DOD on Jan. 19. BF-7 was the 23rd F-35
Lightning II delivered to the DOD.

* On Jan. 20, citing the tremendous progress the F-35B STOVL variant made in 2011, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta rescinded probation for the
F-35B, almost a full year ahead of schedule.

* The F-35 SDD fleet including AA-1, the original test aircraft, crossed the 2,500 flight hour threshold on Jan. 25.

* On Feb. 16 at Edwards AFB, Calif., AF-1, an F-35A CTOL test jet, flew the first external weapons test mission in program history.

Cumulative flight test activity totals for 2012 through Feb. 20 are provided below:

* F-35A CTOL jets have flown 46 times.
* F-35B STOVL aircraft have completed 45 flights.
* F-35C Carrier Variant (CV) jets have flown 23 times.

>From the start of flight testing in December 2006, F-35s have flown 1,704 times, including the production-model flights and AA-1, the original flight test aircraft.

[Coati]

Short update:

Orders and potential orders:
Italy is expected to cut back the number of F-35s to 90 (from 131). This is less compared to the rumoured 100. Probably the F-35B for the AMI wil be axed.
Israel announced the intended purchase of a second batch of 20 aircraft (after the first 20 were ordered in 2010). Order is expected late 2012/early 2013.
Turkey reaffirmed its plan to buy 100 F-35As.

Testing:
After the F-35A, the F-35B (BF-2) has also conducted flights with pylons and sidewinders.
LM failed to meet 3 out of 5 targets in 2011 and as a result wissed around 35M dollar. However, 2 of the three missed targets were met in January (both software releases). The only target still to be met is the fix of the tailhook for the F-35C. The tailhook is currently redesigned.

[Richard from Rotterdam]

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... calreports


Japan Warns U.S. Price Of F-35 Must Not Rise


Feb 22, 2012




By Rie Ishiguro/Reuters
TOKYO

Japan has repeatedly warned the United States against price rises in Lockheed Martin’s new F-35 fighter jet, its top government spokesman said on Wednesday, after U.S. and Lockheed officials noted delays in orders will increase its total cost.

The comments from Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura come after Japan’s Sankei newspaper cited unidentified U.S. government officials as saying that Japan had threatened that it may even cancel its orders if prices climbed.

Japan picked the F-35 as its next mainstay fighter in December, choosing it over combat-proven but less stealthy rivals.

“When we were selecting the fighter, we asked those making the proposals to strictly observe their proposed prices and supply schedules. Japan has conveyed this to the U.S. from time to time,” Fujimura told a news conference.

The Pentagon last week confirmed plans to put off orders for 179 F-35s over the next five years to save $15.1 billion, a move that Lockheed executive vice president Tom Burbage told Reuters would increase the price of the plane somewhat.

Canadian officials have been told the price of their jets would increase by a nominal percentage amount “in the low single digits” as a result of the U.S. slowdown.

Japan’s Defense Ministry has said each jet would cost 8.9 billion yen ($112 million), or 9.9 billion yen including spare parts. The ministry plans to buy 4 jets in the year beginning in April and 42 units eventually.

© 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ed-368756/

PICTURES: F-35B flies with gun pod installed

Lockheed Martin's short take-off and vertical landing F-35B has made its first flight with a key weapon system for the US Marine Corps installed.

Flown from the US Navy's Patuxent River test site in Maryland on 22 February, test aircraft BF-2 carried a 25mm gun pod on a centreline weapons station, in addition to two Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles beneath its outboard wing stations.

"Significant weapons testing for the F-35B and F-35C variants is scheduled for 2012, including fit checks, captive carriage, pit drop and aerial drop tests," said Lockheed.

Meanwhile, Royal Air Force experimental test pilot Sqn Ldr Jim Schofield has become the first UK pilot to fly the carrier variant F-35C, having performed a sortie in test aircraft CF-2 from Patuxent River.

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[Stratofreighter]

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/tu ... ers-report

Turkey plans to buy 100 US F-35 fighters: report

Published Thursday, February 23, 2012

Turkey is planning to purchase 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters worth US$16 billion in an attempt to meet its future air force needs, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz was quoted as saying Thursday.

"Turkey plans to buy 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, two of which will be delivered in 2015," Yilmaz told the daily Milliyet.

It is the first public announcement by Ankara of how much the program will cost.

Turkey has long planned to purchase about 100 jets to replace its aging F-4 and F-16 fleet, but increasing costs have hampered the acquisitions.

[jp 74]

Why buy an jsf with all these hardpoints.
The radar cross section must be ==censored== with all these hardpoints.

[Hans Rolink]

Why buy an jsf with all these hardpoints.
The radar cross section must be ==censored== with all these hardpoints.

Look upon it this way. In situations like we see in Afghanistan, the hardpoints can be used to maximize warload. NATO's opponents there propably can't even spell RADAR let alone use it.
But, against a more technically savvy opponent, the pylons will be removed preserving stealth characteristics. After all, the internal weapon bays are really small.

Hans.