F-35 Lightning II developments

[Piet Luijken]

Yes I am!

According NAMAR newsgroup:

For all who are interested, VMFA-121’s F-35Bs are 168717 (VK15), 168718 (VK16), and 168719 (VK17).

[sharpshooter]

[quote="Piet Luijken"]Yes I am!

Me too!! Working on them actually. Lovin 'it.

Peter

[Piet Luijken]

Cool!

[frankvhemert]

going rather fast.....already AF23
butt I still dont like them

Regards
Frank

[Stefan]

Gentleman; this is not the Tattle Lounge... please stick to facts here and discuss preferences in the applicable areas.

Regards,
Stefan

[Piet Luijken]

Principle Agreement Reached on Fifth Production Lot of Lockheed Martin F-35s
Washington D.C., Nov. 30, 2012 – The U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin have reached an agreement in principle to manufacture 32 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters as part of Low-Rate Initial Production 5 (LRIP-5). The contract will also fund manufacturing-support equipment, flight test instrumentation and ancillary mission equipment.
“It’s been a long journey, but I’m pleased we’ve achieved an agreement that is beneficial to the government and Lockheed Martin,” said Vice Admiral Dave Venlet, F-35 Program Executive Officer. “Production costs are decreasing and I appreciate everyone’s commitment to this important negotiation process. The LRIP-5 agreement will end the year on a positive note and sets the table for the program to move forward with improving business timelines for the greater good of all the nations partnered with us.”
Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will produce 22 F-35A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variants for the U.S. Air Force, three F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variants for the U.S. Marine Corps and seven F-35C carrier variants (CV) for the U.S. Navy. Aircraft production was started in December 2011 under a previously authorized undefinitized contract action.
“We remain committed to working with our government and international customers, and we continue to see excellent production performance,” said Orlando Carvalho, Lockheed Martin F-35 Program General Manager. “Our top priority is to deliver the F-35’s 5th generation capability to our U.S. and partner national warfighters.”
The LRIP 5 aircraft will join 63 F-35s contracted under LRIPs 1-4. To date, 29 LRIP aircraft along with 19 previously built System Development and Demonstration aircraft have been delivered from Lockheed Martin's production facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The most recent deliveries took place in November when three STOVL aircraft were delivered to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. The U.S. and eight partner nations plan to acquire more than 3,100 F-35 fighters. Israel and Japan have also announced plans to purchase the jet under Foreign Military Sales agreements.

[Coati]

F-35C Lightning II Hits Weapons Testing Milestone: CF-2 Completes Initial Pit Drop Testing

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... -nns01.htm

Story Number: NNS121130-08
11/30/2012

By Victor Chen, F-35 Integrated Test Force Public Affairs

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) -- The F-35 integrated test force aboard Naval Air Station Patuxent River completed a weapons ejection milestone for the Lightning II carrier variant on Nov. 28.

CF-2, the second F-35C test aircraft, ejected a 2,000-pound inert GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and a 500-pound GBU-12 Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb from an internal weapons bay into a foam-covered concrete pit, completing the series of first-ever ground weapons ejections for the F-35C.

"The integrated government and industry team here, particularly the weapons team, have had a terrific 2012," said Capt. Erik Etz, director of test and evaluation for F-35 naval variants. "We have a lot more of the envelope to expand on the [F-35C], but we have a lot of momentum, and we're well equipped for the in-flight weapons separation work ahead of us."

In addition to the GBU-31 and GBU-12, the CF-2 team successfully ejected the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). Overall, the team completed eleven weapon releases, split between the left and right weapon bays, earlier than planned.

Weapons pit drop testing collects data to measure stresses on the airframe and any neighboring munitions, ensures proper function of weapon and suspension equipment, and validates the separation models for the munitions' ejection characteristics, including trajectories and velocities.

Combined with airborne test missions carrying inert weapons to evaluate environmental and handling conditions, pit drop testing is precursor to airborne separations.

In 2012, the F-35 test team aboard NAS Patuxent River completed the first airborne weapons separation for any of the three variants and at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the F-35A test team completed successful testing with a GBU-31 JDAM and the AIM-120 AMRAAM.

The F-35C carrier variant of the Lightning II is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B variants with its larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear; features used to withstand catapult launches and deck landing impacts associated with the demanding aircraft carrier environment. The F-35C is undergoing flight test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to fleet delivery.

[Coati]

CF-05 first flew 30 November at Fort Worth. This aircraft Will eventually go to PAX to join the SDD test fleet.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Coati]

Again two LRIP-4 F-35s made their first flights:

AF-25 10-5013/EG F-35A For Eglin, first flight on 18 November 2012
BF-22 168720/VK-02 F-35B destined for VMFA-121 first flight on 2 December

[jeroenvn]

Good morning,

It is possible that the first F-35 will be present at the Open Days of the Royal Dutch Air force?

Gr. Bonzo (www.jeroenvannorden.nl)

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[tally]

I do not think so. If there is anything somewhat representative of an F-35 it will be a fullsize mock-up.

[jeroenvn]

I do not think so. If there is anything somewhat representative of an F-35 it will be a fullsize mock-up.

Good evening,

Okay, thank you for responding.
I was thinking are flying 2 in officielle registration.
But nope.

Gr. Bonzo (www.jeroenvannorden.nl)

[Coati]

F-35B completes second airborne weapons separation
Lightning II executes first drop of a 500-pound GBU-12


NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – The F-35 Lightning II Integrated Test Force (ITF) accomplished another significant test milestone Dec. 3 when an F-35B successfully released another weapon in flight.

BF-3, a short take off and vertical landing variant of the F-35, released an inert 500-pound GBU-12 Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb over water in the Atlantic Test Ranges while traveling at 0.8 Mach, or 485 nautical mph, at an altitude of approximately 5,000 feet.

“Completion of this weapons separation test is a testament to the flexibility of the ITF, where every day we are verifying different portions of the F-35 flight envelope or validating multiple planned capabilities,” said Navy Capt. Erik Etz, director of test for F-35 naval variants. “Today’s release of the GBU-12 builds on our team’s first-ever drop earlier this summer and was the result of extraordinary effort by our team of maintainers, engineers, pilots and others who consistently work long hours to deliver F-35 warfighting capability to the U.S. services and our international partners.”

The release was the second for the F-35B, and the fourth overall for the program. To date, F-35 variants have successfully released the 500-pound GBU-12, a 1,000-pound GBU-32, a 1-ton GBU-31 and an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile.

“We’re expanding the envelope for the fleet,” said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Burks, test pilot for the mission. “The GBU-12 is a critical weapon in the F-35’s arsenal and will be vital in our mission to support the troops on the ground.”

An aerial weapons separation event tests the proper and safe release of the weapon from its carriage system and trajectory away from the aircraft. It is the culmination of a significant number of tests, including ground fit checks, ground pit drops, and aerial captive carriage and environment flights to ensure the system is working properly before expanding the test envelope in the air.

Aircraft and land-based test monitoring systems collected data from the successful separation, which is in review at the F-35 integrated test force at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.



Photo and video at link:
http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fu ... ry&id=5204

[nilsko]

Breaking News (CANADA): Federal government cancels F-35 fighter purchase

http://o.canada.com/2012/12/06/1107-col-dentandt/

[Coati]

Breaking News (CANADA): Federal government cancels F-35 fighter purchase

http://o.canada.com/2012/12/06/1107-col-dentandt/

Not really...(yet)

Canada says reviewing F-35 report, denies plan to cancel

(Reuters) - The Canadian government said on Thursday it was reviewing an independent report on the cost of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, but denied that it had decided to cancel its planned purchase of 65 of the Lockheed Martin Corp warplanes.

The CTV network reported earlier that the cost of Canada's planned F-35 purchase was set to soar in cost and the government would start looking at alternative planes.

The media report was the latest embarrassment over the F-35 for the Conservative government, which announced in July 2010 it would buy 65 of the Joint Strike Fighters for C$9 billion.

CTV, citing unnamed sources, said the government would next week release an independent study showing the cost of buying and maintaining the jets was in fact around C$40 billion ($40.4 billion), much higher than the initial estimate of C$25 billion for purchase and maintenance.

The television network did not say what time period the C$40 billion covered. The C$25 billion estimate was for 20 years.

Andrew MacDougall, spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said the government was reviewing the report prepared by the accounting firm KPMG, but that reports indicating the government had decided to cancel its F-35 buy were false.



http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/ ... ME20121207