F-35 Cancelled, then what ?
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Nope USN funded...
Exhibit R-2A, RDT&E Project Justification: PB 2015 Navy
Date: March 2014
Appropriation/Budget Activity 1319/5
R-1 Program Element (Number/Name) PE 0604329N / Small Diameter Bomb (SDB)
Project (Number/Name): 3072 / Small Diameter Bomb (SDB)
B. Accomplishments/Planned Programs ($ in Millions, Article Quantities in Each)
FY 2013
FY 2014
FY 2015
Continue support of EMD and integration of SDB II with F-35B and F-35C.
Continue support of SDB II prime contractor and government support of weapon development efforts. Begin specific F-35B and F-35C efforts with SDB II prime contractor which were delayed to FY15 to accommodate the JSF OFP change from Block 3 to Block 4..........
FY 2015 Plans:
Continue F-35 UAI OFP development and coding and support fit checks and testing with SDB II Weapon vendor. Begin F-35 bay modifications required for SDB II/JSF/JMM BRU integration. Full manning of JSF prime contractor team to support SDB II weapon development and integration......
D. Acquisition Strategy
The SDB Increment II acquisition strategy is to conduct a full and open competition to select up to two contractors to compete during a planned 42-month risk reduction phase prior to entering EMD. This competition began April 17, 2006 with the signature of contracts to the competing contractors: 1) Raytheon and 2) the team of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
A Fixed Price Incentive Firm Target type contract for EMD, including Firm Fixed Price procurement options for Lots 1-3 was awarded to Raytheon August 9, 2010. Lots 4 & 5 are included in the contract, but are Not-To-Exceed options.
The Navy funding will support Navy-unique efforts for SDB Increment II, such as aircraft integration, ship suitability, studies and analysis, and program management and government in-house support. These efforts will be performed on several cost-type contracts or through cost reimbursable work requests to government activities and contractors.........
Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) - Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II) As of December 31, 2012
........The SDB II program office has made considerable progress on the F-35 risk reduction effort to address the ongoing F-35 System Development and Demonstration program delays. The SDB II team successfully conducted F-35B and F-35C weapon’s bay fit checks utilizing production jets. The data collected during these fit checks will be used to finalize the modification of the F-35B weapon's bay. These efforts are on track and serve as a critical risk reduction event for both the SDB II and F-35 programs.
Program Background:
A $450.8 million Fixed Price Incentive Firm-type Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract was awarded to RMS, Tucson, Arizona on August 9, 2010. RMS will complete the design, development, weapon integration, and test for the joint interest SDB II program. F-15E integration is being accomplished by Boeing (St. Louis, Missouri) through the F-15 Development Systems Program Office using Air Force SDB II funding. The F-35B and F-35C aircraft integration contract will be awarded to Lockheed Martin (Fort Worth, Texas) by the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Joint Program Office using DoN SDB II funding......
Exhibit R-2A, RDT&E Project Justification: PB 2015 Navy
Date: March 2014
Appropriation/Budget Activity 1319/5
R-1 Program Element (Number/Name) PE 0604329N / Small Diameter Bomb (SDB)
Project (Number/Name): 3072 / Small Diameter Bomb (SDB)
B. Accomplishments/Planned Programs ($ in Millions, Article Quantities in Each)
FY 2013
FY 2014
FY 2015
Continue support of EMD and integration of SDB II with F-35B and F-35C.
Continue support of SDB II prime contractor and government support of weapon development efforts. Begin specific F-35B and F-35C efforts with SDB II prime contractor which were delayed to FY15 to accommodate the JSF OFP change from Block 3 to Block 4..........
FY 2015 Plans:
Continue F-35 UAI OFP development and coding and support fit checks and testing with SDB II Weapon vendor. Begin F-35 bay modifications required for SDB II/JSF/JMM BRU integration. Full manning of JSF prime contractor team to support SDB II weapon development and integration......
D. Acquisition Strategy
The SDB Increment II acquisition strategy is to conduct a full and open competition to select up to two contractors to compete during a planned 42-month risk reduction phase prior to entering EMD. This competition began April 17, 2006 with the signature of contracts to the competing contractors: 1) Raytheon and 2) the team of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
A Fixed Price Incentive Firm Target type contract for EMD, including Firm Fixed Price procurement options for Lots 1-3 was awarded to Raytheon August 9, 2010. Lots 4 & 5 are included in the contract, but are Not-To-Exceed options.
The Navy funding will support Navy-unique efforts for SDB Increment II, such as aircraft integration, ship suitability, studies and analysis, and program management and government in-house support. These efforts will be performed on several cost-type contracts or through cost reimbursable work requests to government activities and contractors.........
Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) - Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II) As of December 31, 2012
........The SDB II program office has made considerable progress on the F-35 risk reduction effort to address the ongoing F-35 System Development and Demonstration program delays. The SDB II team successfully conducted F-35B and F-35C weapon’s bay fit checks utilizing production jets. The data collected during these fit checks will be used to finalize the modification of the F-35B weapon's bay. These efforts are on track and serve as a critical risk reduction event for both the SDB II and F-35 programs.
Program Background:
A $450.8 million Fixed Price Incentive Firm-type Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract was awarded to RMS, Tucson, Arizona on August 9, 2010. RMS will complete the design, development, weapon integration, and test for the joint interest SDB II program. F-15E integration is being accomplished by Boeing (St. Louis, Missouri) through the F-15 Development Systems Program Office using Air Force SDB II funding. The F-35B and F-35C aircraft integration contract will be awarded to Lockheed Martin (Fort Worth, Texas) by the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Joint Program Office using DoN SDB II funding......
One assumes that the contractors and the program offices are all pointing fingers at each other for failing to provide data. And since SDB II is the closest thing to a CAS weapon that the jet gets before Block 4A/B (2022-24 IOC) it is of some concern to the Marines.
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Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Not that I'm cynical you understand, but compare the statements about the 2B software with the official report I linked to here on 17th Feb. And whats the performance loss with the interim fix?..... 
Late Software Not Expected To Jeopardize U.S. Marine Corps F-35 IOC
The Joint Strike Fighter program now estimates a 4-5 month delay in delivering the aircraft’s fully functional software package and is working to recover that slippage after prioritizing work to support the U.S. Marine Corps initial operational capability (IOC) date of July 1.
The Marine Corps, the first Lockheed Martin F-35 customer slated to declare IOC, is using the 2B software package to stand up its first squadron of aircraft at MCAS Yuma, Arizona. Although the 2B is limited to employing three weapons—the 1,000-lb. GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition, GBU-12 500-lb. Laser-Guided Bomb and Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile AIM-120 series—the F-35B will surpass the current capability of the AV-8B Harrier jump jet and F/A-18C twin-engine Hornets, the Marines say.
All of the software testing needed to enable close air support (CAS) operations for the Marines—a primary mission, as the F-35B will support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force—is complete, says Lorraine Martin, F-35 executive vice president for Lockheed Martin. The entire 2B software package was expected to wrap up testing in January, but she says “single-digit” numbers of tests requiring specific conditions have yet to be finished. Completion of those was slated for February.........
USAF Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the Pentagon’s program executive officer, says the initial remedy is effective for a fault that caused a catastrophic fire in an F-35A’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine last year, but the program is seeking to improve it. The fix—producing the polyimide engine lining with a “trench” for stators in the third-stage integrally bladed rotor roughly 1/8th of an inch deeper—has been approved for production aircraft, according to Chris Flynn, who served as Pratt’s F135 and F119 vice president during the engine fault investigation. The company aims to deliver the first set of “pre-trenched” stators in February, he says. By the first quarter of 2016, Pratt hopes to have added the fix to all engines in the fleet already fielded. “Hopefully, we don’t have to talk about this that much any more,” he says, acknowledging the engine fire and subsequent fleet grounding cost the program time............
Late Software Not Expected To Jeopardize U.S. Marine Corps F-35 IOC
The Joint Strike Fighter program now estimates a 4-5 month delay in delivering the aircraft’s fully functional software package and is working to recover that slippage after prioritizing work to support the U.S. Marine Corps initial operational capability (IOC) date of July 1.
The Marine Corps, the first Lockheed Martin F-35 customer slated to declare IOC, is using the 2B software package to stand up its first squadron of aircraft at MCAS Yuma, Arizona. Although the 2B is limited to employing three weapons—the 1,000-lb. GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition, GBU-12 500-lb. Laser-Guided Bomb and Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile AIM-120 series—the F-35B will surpass the current capability of the AV-8B Harrier jump jet and F/A-18C twin-engine Hornets, the Marines say.
All of the software testing needed to enable close air support (CAS) operations for the Marines—a primary mission, as the F-35B will support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force—is complete, says Lorraine Martin, F-35 executive vice president for Lockheed Martin. The entire 2B software package was expected to wrap up testing in January, but she says “single-digit” numbers of tests requiring specific conditions have yet to be finished. Completion of those was slated for February.........
USAF Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the Pentagon’s program executive officer, says the initial remedy is effective for a fault that caused a catastrophic fire in an F-35A’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine last year, but the program is seeking to improve it. The fix—producing the polyimide engine lining with a “trench” for stators in the third-stage integrally bladed rotor roughly 1/8th of an inch deeper—has been approved for production aircraft, according to Chris Flynn, who served as Pratt’s F135 and F119 vice president during the engine fault investigation. The company aims to deliver the first set of “pre-trenched” stators in February, he says. By the first quarter of 2016, Pratt hopes to have added the fix to all engines in the fleet already fielded. “Hopefully, we don’t have to talk about this that much any more,” he says, acknowledging the engine fire and subsequent fleet grounding cost the program time............
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Really? Apples with apples here guys...
The AIM-7, Maverick, HARM, SLAM-ER, and Mk-82/83 slicks don't need to be integrated with F-35.
Shall we substitute these with AIM-120C/D, SDB II/Brimstone, AARGM (Block 4), JSM (Block 4A) and all the JDAM versions, and I'd argue the F-35 stacks up very well. Also, lets compare the F-35A's 18,500lb internal/external load with the Hornet's 12,500lb capacity.
Oh, and where is the F/A-18s's internal weapons bay? And do we want to compare internal fuel capacities?
The AIM-7, Maverick, HARM, SLAM-ER, and Mk-82/83 slicks don't need to be integrated with F-35.
Shall we substitute these with AIM-120C/D, SDB II/Brimstone, AARGM (Block 4), JSM (Block 4A) and all the JDAM versions, and I'd argue the F-35 stacks up very well. Also, lets compare the F-35A's 18,500lb internal/external load with the Hornet's 12,500lb capacity.
Oh, and where is the F/A-18s's internal weapons bay? And do we want to compare internal fuel capacities?
Glad rag - It might be possible once but it would be a short flight.
While we're all used to PowerPoint-vs.-real loadouts, it's quite difficult to get to the F-35's alleged 18,000 pounds. You have 11 stations, which looks impressive, but one is gunpod-only (maybe other non-droppable items later), four are single-purpose (2 x AIM-120, 2 X SRAAM), two are size-constrained and only two are wet.
While we're all used to PowerPoint-vs.-real loadouts, it's quite difficult to get to the F-35's alleged 18,000 pounds. You have 11 stations, which looks impressive, but one is gunpod-only (maybe other non-droppable items later), four are single-purpose (2 x AIM-120, 2 X SRAAM), two are size-constrained and only two are wet.
This is interesting - see pp 14-15...
http://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP...G-20150226.pdf
Today, there are a multitude of high risk regions where a crisis response operation would require large Joint strike packages to soften or blind the threat.... Such strike packages require coordination across services and combatant commands and take weeks and months to assemble.
This same kind of access can be attained with a single detachment of 4 to 8 F-35s.
It seems those aircraft would be pretty busy supporting CAP, doing ISR and generating strike packages - that's about the same number of SHARs that the Invincibles carried, just for hack-the-shad and a few other missions. Not to mention you still don't have AEW&C.
The sensors and communications equipment of our F-35s allow pilots and forward air controllers to see through the clouds to exchange high fidelity pictures in environments we would consider a no go today.
You what? Through the clouds = SAR/GMTI from a fighter radar. That doesn't sound like a source of "high-fidelity pictures" in a CAS context. And still no Rover yet.
Comments? GK121? Spaz? Anybody?
http://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP...G-20150226.pdf
Today, there are a multitude of high risk regions where a crisis response operation would require large Joint strike packages to soften or blind the threat.... Such strike packages require coordination across services and combatant commands and take weeks and months to assemble.
This same kind of access can be attained with a single detachment of 4 to 8 F-35s.
It seems those aircraft would be pretty busy supporting CAP, doing ISR and generating strike packages - that's about the same number of SHARs that the Invincibles carried, just for hack-the-shad and a few other missions. Not to mention you still don't have AEW&C.
The sensors and communications equipment of our F-35s allow pilots and forward air controllers to see through the clouds to exchange high fidelity pictures in environments we would consider a no go today.
You what? Through the clouds = SAR/GMTI from a fighter radar. That doesn't sound like a source of "high-fidelity pictures" in a CAS context. And still no Rover yet.
Comments? GK121? Spaz? Anybody?