GAO 3rd Report on F-35 Program

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What the GAO don't say

The F-35 program is demonstrating -- affordability, design stability, reliable cost forecasts and adherence to schedules.
The government's own Critical Design and first flight success last year validated that the F35 already possesses significant levels of technical maturity and lower levels of technical risk for a fighter at this stage of its development.
Currently, there are no known technical issues to preclude achievement of Service Initial Operational Capabilities (USMC-2012, USAF-2013, USN-2015), or the on-time acquisition of our international partner countries fighters."
Flight testing which began…as planned in 2006… has validated flight characteristics of the aircraft.
Initial electrical power-on occurred as planned in 2005 with five sigma quality – unheard of in an aircraft development program Initial flight line testing occurred as planned with “firsts” achieved in leak-free fuel system tests and record-setting time from engine-on to full-power.
First flight occurred as planned in 2006 and verified outstanding flight
characteristics…even better than the simulator
Training and Concepts of Operation development for international participant country pilots and scientists via large-scale manned tactical simulation experimentation is ccurring as planned with more than 200 participants from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and Turkey.
F-35 Carrier Variant is on schedule for Critical Design Review this summer…as planned…
The Cooperative Avionics Testbed, “CATBird,” is a highly modified 737 that will integrate and validate the F-35’s powerful sensor suite before it flies in an F-35. CATBird is undergoing systems installations and will begin flying F-35 avionics this summer.
Lessons learned from F-22 and other recent aircraft development programs have been adopted by F-35 to drive down technical risk even more.
Many of the F-35’s baseline avionics and stealth technologies were matured long ago on the F-22, and are simply being updated for use on the F-35.
The F-35 and F-22 share the same engine core, which has logged hundreds of thousands of successful flight hours.
All 21 test aircraft and the first two Low Rate Initial Production aircraft will be in manufacturing by the end of this year. Ten of the test aircraft are already in the manufacturing flow F-35s will have logged approximately 1,350 flights and 2,500 hours of flight testing before the armed services take delivery of the first production aircraft in 2009.
Flight testing for the F-35 is becoming much more a process of validation than discovery, when compared to legacy programs.
The first F-35 test aircraft is flying and is more mature after two months of testing than previous modern fighters have been after their first year.
Flight test is based on thousands of hours of component and system level testing in labs and facilities.
We knew 80 percent or more about the system before we even began flight test. We fly to learn the last increment and refine the details.
All of the F-35’s sensors are flying NOW and validating their performance, and the entire F-35 avionics package will be integrated and flight-tested long before the first production F-35 is delivered. All other systems are being proved out in laboratories, and will begin flying on F-35 test aircraft this year.
Unlike prior programs, F-35 has a more robust and comprehensive ground
development program for hardware and software and most importantly systems integration.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07360.pdf

full report at link above

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