The Australian - June 24th: Stealth fighter project 'flawed'
AUSTRALIA'S biggest-ever defence project, the $16 billion Joint Strike Fighter, has potential flaws that could reduce the world's newest warplane to just an "average aircraft", according to internal Defence Department documents. The documents reveal the JSF is beset with serious software problems and a cockpit display system so bad it had to be almost completely redesigned.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson, a staunch defender of the troubled JSF program, will travel to the US at the weekend for talks with the plane's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin......
Dr Nelson agreed that the transfer of information from the US to the project partners, such as details of the plane's stealth technology, was a significant issue and he vowed to walk away from the project unless guarantees were given. "I will be meeting with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld next week and this issue will be discussed," he said......
Australian scientists from the DSTO have identified "major risks" to the plane's performance in its complex software, advanced cockpit displays and central computer system. A DSTO report from December, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, warns that a "technical risk assessment" by DSTO found "major risks" inherent in the aircraft's cockpit display system.
"Late or substandard software development within the display system results in poor mission system integration," DSTO says. "Realisation of this risk may result in loss of functionality, poor system reliability, or poor man-machine interface which reduces the pilot's ability to perform." It describes the integration of technology for the plane's cockpit as being only "at the laboratory breadboard stage".
Sources told The Weekend Australian last night that the cockpit problems were so severe the system had been completely redesigned.
Another major problem identified by Defence scientists is the central computer system -- the same issue that led to the Collins-class submarines initially being labelled as "dud subs".
DSTO complains of difficulty assessing the scale of the JSF's software problems because of a lack of information from the US.
"Software is a key enabler ofthe integrated mission systems, which transform a kinematically average aircraft into a highly capable weapon system," DSTO says. "The lack of technical information prevents DSTO from conducting a thorough analysis of the integrated performance of the (cental computer system). "The lack of information is due to a number of factors including the novel acquisition approach, US International Trade in Arms Regulations, and what would appear to be proprietary restrictions."..........