F-35 Cancelled, then what ?
If I remember from my YO taskbook, there were Demin tanks on the flight deck with blue hoses run from them. They certainly weren't taken from the HPSW system.
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Warfare is a prelude to negotiation..... so why not keep it simple and cheap?
What does the enemy look like nowadays?
Perhaps we could get them on our side by feeding them better than their current political masters.
So maybe replace F35 with field kitchens...!!
I'm sure Bombardier could do them for less than a million quid per van.
What does the enemy look like nowadays?
Perhaps we could get them on our side by feeding them better than their current political masters.
So maybe replace F35 with field kitchens...!!
I'm sure Bombardier could do them for less than a million quid per van.
Originally Posted by Alfred
If I remember from my YO taskbook, there were Demin tanks on the flight deck with blue hoses run from them. They certainly weren't taken from the HPSW system.
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GUys,
Just to add some detail that might be useful. The CVS flight deck tractors were fitted with special demin water tanks that replaced existing ballast weights. The installation also included a pump, hose and nozzle for the water washes described in earlier posts. Water wash was, as many have said here, a standard routine post last flight of the day. However, this really only washed the LP compressor section, as it threw almost all the water out the front nozzles.
The Sea Harrier Pegasus engine (might have applied to all Peggies) was also fitted with an integral water wash system that worked via a connection located under a belly panel. This was used during 'remedial' compressor washes in cases of power loss. A very effective system.
Hope this helps
Best regards as ever to those doing the work on the decks,
Engines
Just to add some detail that might be useful. The CVS flight deck tractors were fitted with special demin water tanks that replaced existing ballast weights. The installation also included a pump, hose and nozzle for the water washes described in earlier posts. Water wash was, as many have said here, a standard routine post last flight of the day. However, this really only washed the LP compressor section, as it threw almost all the water out the front nozzles.
The Sea Harrier Pegasus engine (might have applied to all Peggies) was also fitted with an integral water wash system that worked via a connection located under a belly panel. This was used during 'remedial' compressor washes in cases of power loss. A very effective system.
Hope this helps
Best regards as ever to those doing the work on the decks,
Engines
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sandiego,
That is because it was just an uncontained engine failure that happened to cause a fuel fire that was quickly extinguished. Note there is no mention of a titanium fire. As I see it, there are two different stories, the Bogdan story and the accident investigation story, take your pick.
And given the below, I am indeed surprised there was not a total burn out as I mentioned in post #6217....:
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Three comments.
1. Another programme timeline that didn't last 2 years. Slippages on schedule. Not worth the paper they're printed on.....
2. At this rate Block 5 won't arrive till after 2035 - if at all.
3. Not being US and competing against their exports, will Meteor be integrated before 2025? And given the current repeated failures to meet deadlines, is 2030 more realistic?
AW&ST: Opinion: Time To Define The F-35 Upgrade Plan
Two years ago, the Pentagon set initial operational capability (IOC) dates for all three versions of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Those dates may be adhered to, but some capabilities may be missing. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, director of the Air Force’s F-35 integration office, said in late May that there are hardware and software items—all unspecified and some classified—that are running late, so the IOC requirement may have to be amended........
The first post-IOC upgrade, Block 4, has changed shape twice in less than two years. The original plan was to roll out numbered block upgrades at two-year intervals. Early in 2014, Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, director of the JSF program office, disclosed that Block 4 would be split into Block 4A and 4B, the latter reaching IOC in 2024—so that anything post-Block 4 would have to wait until 2026. Apparently, some customers had a problem with this. A new plan was unveiled this spring, dividing Block 4 into four segments, 4.1 through 4.4. Block 4.1, mostly software, arrives in late 2019, two years earlier than 4A would have done—but it seems likely that it will include overspill from Block 3F. Block 4.4 is due for IOC in mid-2025.
The idea is to “accelerate incremental capabilities,” according to a program document. The Pentagon and its partners have many requirements and desires between now and 2027, and a process has been put in place to prioritize them. Common items take precedence over customer-unique upgrades unless the program’s Joint Executive Steering Board decrees otherwise. Priorities include anti-surface warfare, with the AGM-154C-1 net-enabled version of the Joint Standoff Weapon, and moving-target attack with the laser-guided version of the Joint Direct Attack Munition. Block 4 also includes the B61-12 nuclear bomb. There is a long list of other new weapons: cruise missiles from Norway and Turkey, and Britain’s three-phase Selective Precision Effects At Range (Spear) project. The U.K. wants two new MBDA air-to-air missiles (AAM): Meteor and a new version of the Advanced Short-Range AAM.
But the presentation warns that “weapon integration requests are likely to exceed capacity,” even though budget documents show that the Pentagon plans to spend around $700 million annually on JSF research and development as the original development phase winds down. That does not include follow-on development funds from international partners. That makes Block 4 a $5 billion-plus program, which ought to be enough to cover most upgrade needs. Air Force acquisition chief Bill LaPlante also appears to think the upgrade money could be spent more smartly. He has floated the idea of moving toward open architecture in Block 4, with a view to opening Block 5 to competition. Boeing’s defense boss Chris Chadwick doubts whether that will work. Any incumbent, he believes, should have enough of an advantage to beat challengers in a fair competition.
Consider, too, the history of the F-35’s sibling, the F-22 Raptor. A decade ago, when the F-22 was approaching IOC, the contractor and customer expected that the jet would be modernized quickly. By 2012, the Block 40 Global Strike Enabler was to be in service, with added radar side arrays, powerful electronic attack capabilities and two-way satcoms. But even with $5 billion in R&D over the last decade, none of this has been done. Operational F-22s still cannot communicate, other than by voice radio, with anything except another F-22, and they are only just moving beyond the obsolescent AIM-9M Sidewinder AAM. Early production F-22s are not due to be brought up to fully operational standards until the 2020s.
The F-22 and F-35 have some strong similarities when it comes to upgrades. Both are stealthy, which makes it more difficult to add or replace a radio-frequency or electro-optical aperture. Both have a systems architecture that leans heavily on a central integrated processor, with the subsystems as peripherals. That has its advantages but means a dedicated development program for each sensor upgrade rather than just porting technology from another aircraft. Above all, both have shown a big appetite for regression testing—the process of making sure that a change or fix to one system has not resulted in a failure in another—which has been the biggest drag on F-22 upgrade efforts.........
1. Another programme timeline that didn't last 2 years. Slippages on schedule. Not worth the paper they're printed on.....
2. At this rate Block 5 won't arrive till after 2035 - if at all.
3. Not being US and competing against their exports, will Meteor be integrated before 2025? And given the current repeated failures to meet deadlines, is 2030 more realistic?
AW&ST: Opinion: Time To Define The F-35 Upgrade Plan
Two years ago, the Pentagon set initial operational capability (IOC) dates for all three versions of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Those dates may be adhered to, but some capabilities may be missing. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, director of the Air Force’s F-35 integration office, said in late May that there are hardware and software items—all unspecified and some classified—that are running late, so the IOC requirement may have to be amended........
The first post-IOC upgrade, Block 4, has changed shape twice in less than two years. The original plan was to roll out numbered block upgrades at two-year intervals. Early in 2014, Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, director of the JSF program office, disclosed that Block 4 would be split into Block 4A and 4B, the latter reaching IOC in 2024—so that anything post-Block 4 would have to wait until 2026. Apparently, some customers had a problem with this. A new plan was unveiled this spring, dividing Block 4 into four segments, 4.1 through 4.4. Block 4.1, mostly software, arrives in late 2019, two years earlier than 4A would have done—but it seems likely that it will include overspill from Block 3F. Block 4.4 is due for IOC in mid-2025.
The idea is to “accelerate incremental capabilities,” according to a program document. The Pentagon and its partners have many requirements and desires between now and 2027, and a process has been put in place to prioritize them. Common items take precedence over customer-unique upgrades unless the program’s Joint Executive Steering Board decrees otherwise. Priorities include anti-surface warfare, with the AGM-154C-1 net-enabled version of the Joint Standoff Weapon, and moving-target attack with the laser-guided version of the Joint Direct Attack Munition. Block 4 also includes the B61-12 nuclear bomb. There is a long list of other new weapons: cruise missiles from Norway and Turkey, and Britain’s three-phase Selective Precision Effects At Range (Spear) project. The U.K. wants two new MBDA air-to-air missiles (AAM): Meteor and a new version of the Advanced Short-Range AAM.
But the presentation warns that “weapon integration requests are likely to exceed capacity,” even though budget documents show that the Pentagon plans to spend around $700 million annually on JSF research and development as the original development phase winds down. That does not include follow-on development funds from international partners. That makes Block 4 a $5 billion-plus program, which ought to be enough to cover most upgrade needs. Air Force acquisition chief Bill LaPlante also appears to think the upgrade money could be spent more smartly. He has floated the idea of moving toward open architecture in Block 4, with a view to opening Block 5 to competition. Boeing’s defense boss Chris Chadwick doubts whether that will work. Any incumbent, he believes, should have enough of an advantage to beat challengers in a fair competition.
Consider, too, the history of the F-35’s sibling, the F-22 Raptor. A decade ago, when the F-22 was approaching IOC, the contractor and customer expected that the jet would be modernized quickly. By 2012, the Block 40 Global Strike Enabler was to be in service, with added radar side arrays, powerful electronic attack capabilities and two-way satcoms. But even with $5 billion in R&D over the last decade, none of this has been done. Operational F-22s still cannot communicate, other than by voice radio, with anything except another F-22, and they are only just moving beyond the obsolescent AIM-9M Sidewinder AAM. Early production F-22s are not due to be brought up to fully operational standards until the 2020s.
The F-22 and F-35 have some strong similarities when it comes to upgrades. Both are stealthy, which makes it more difficult to add or replace a radio-frequency or electro-optical aperture. Both have a systems architecture that leans heavily on a central integrated processor, with the subsystems as peripherals. That has its advantages but means a dedicated development program for each sensor upgrade rather than just porting technology from another aircraft. Above all, both have shown a big appetite for regression testing—the process of making sure that a change or fix to one system has not resulted in a failure in another—which has been the biggest drag on F-22 upgrade efforts.........
Blocks and Spirals can always lead to this kind of "hidden slippage". For example, the Marines were originally scheduled to reach IOC with Block 2 in 2010, so by that count they are "only" five years late. But at that time Block 1 was supposed to have "warfighter utility" with weapons qualified and Block 2 was a step beyond that; today's Block 2B/3I has envelope limits (40 kft and Mach 1.2/5.5 g for the B model) and no external weapons.
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Meanwhile our Dutch friends have found out that 37 might not be enough, so now they're planning to invest in a second (likely M346 or similar), less expensive type, to keep their pilots' flight hours up to spec and give them the ability to train on something a lot cheaper.
Essentially back to 2 types in their main fighter fleet, it's 1970 again.
in Dutch
Luchtmacht wil extra vliegtuigen|Binnenland| Telegraaf.nl
Essentially back to 2 types in their main fighter fleet, it's 1970 again.
in Dutch
Luchtmacht wil extra vliegtuigen|Binnenland| Telegraaf.nl
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This post contains...sarcasm.
Hmm additional control surfaces req'd.
One wonders, as this was was known in 2009, then in fact it might not be as big a hit as article makes out.
LM may already have made contingency plans in advance for the modification and future incorporation of said surfaces, control systems for said plus integration into the airframes flight control software ?
Maybe the "B" can get round this by having a little "puff" when required, that would be handy [apart from the blindingly obvious stealth implications] indeed.
YEAH RIGHT.
One wonders, as this was was known in 2009, then in fact it might not be as big a hit as article makes out.
LM may already have made contingency plans in advance for the modification and future incorporation of said surfaces, control systems for said plus integration into the airframes flight control software ?
Maybe the "B" can get round this by having a little "puff" when required, that would be handy [apart from the blindingly obvious stealth implications] indeed.
YEAH RIGHT.
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And the Super just keeps on giving...
Boeing encouraged by possible US Navy, Kuwait Super Hornet deals - 5/19/2015 - Flight Global
Boeing encouraged by possible US Navy, Kuwait Super Hornet deals - 5/19/2015 - Flight Global
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F-35 Cancelled, then what ?
And why, pray tell, do I hear Yakkety Sax and get the image of spinning bow ties, buttonhole water squirting flowers, custard pies and big shoes whenever I read more gripes with "Dave, WonderJet of the new Millenium"
It's not like this was predicted??
It's not like this was predicted??
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Engines,
Being on a "Pinger" squadron I do remember chuckling when a bit of the demin hose nozzle came off one day while the "Zoomies" were carrying out the evolution you described.
We did it engine running one day and the firesuitmen came running up the deck thinking we were on fire!
Cheers now
Being on a "Pinger" squadron I do remember chuckling when a bit of the demin hose nozzle came off one day while the "Zoomies" were carrying out the evolution you described.
We did it engine running one day and the firesuitmen came running up the deck thinking we were on fire!
Cheers now
Who’s afraid of America?
Interesting article in The Economist at Who?s afraid of America? | The Economist
"The military playing field is more even than it has been for many years. That is a big problem for the West"
"Hence the need to come up with a third offset strategy..."
"The programme needs to overcome at least five critical vulnerabilities. The first is that carriers and other surface vessels can now be tracked and hit by missiles at ranges from the enemy’s shore which could prevent the use of their cruise missiles or their tactical aircraft without in-flight refuelling by lumbering tankers that can be picked off by hostile fighters"
"To get its hands on the technologies it needs, the military establishment and the armed forces themselves may have to take an axe to cherished programmes. One possibility would be to scale back plans to buy nearly 2,500 F-35 fighter jets, which have too short a range for many situations, and use the money to buy unmanned combat aircraft and a bigger fleet of long-range strike bombers. The navy might have to give up on two of its fabulously expensive carrier groups in recognition of their growing vulnerability in favour of investments in submarines, both manned and unmanned"
" 'The more successful the offset strategy is in extending US conventional advantages, the more attractive US adversaries will find strategies of nuclear escalation." The enemy always gets a vote"
Makes a lot of sense - to a layman like myself.
"The military playing field is more even than it has been for many years. That is a big problem for the West"
"Hence the need to come up with a third offset strategy..."
"The programme needs to overcome at least five critical vulnerabilities. The first is that carriers and other surface vessels can now be tracked and hit by missiles at ranges from the enemy’s shore which could prevent the use of their cruise missiles or their tactical aircraft without in-flight refuelling by lumbering tankers that can be picked off by hostile fighters"
"To get its hands on the technologies it needs, the military establishment and the armed forces themselves may have to take an axe to cherished programmes. One possibility would be to scale back plans to buy nearly 2,500 F-35 fighter jets, which have too short a range for many situations, and use the money to buy unmanned combat aircraft and a bigger fleet of long-range strike bombers. The navy might have to give up on two of its fabulously expensive carrier groups in recognition of their growing vulnerability in favour of investments in submarines, both manned and unmanned"
" 'The more successful the offset strategy is in extending US conventional advantages, the more attractive US adversaries will find strategies of nuclear escalation." The enemy always gets a vote"
Makes a lot of sense - to a layman like myself.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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More important things for the Program right now KPax, like USMC IOC for instance. F-35 is more than capable of flying the Atlantic, and would have done so for last year's RIAT had the fleet not been justifiably (albeit temporarily) grounded after the Eglin engine incident.
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USMC, JPO, and the contractors are stretched incredibly thin trying to meet the Marines IOC with their F-35B. Mods to aircraft are continuing while spares are accumulated to meet the July "deadline," not to mention getting a solid, performing version of ALIS up and running (and keeping it from downing an aircraft unnecessarily.) There is simply no spare capacity to support a dog and pony show at RIAT at this time.