F-35 Cancelled, then what ?

[Hempy]

RP, I thnk gladrags post is positing that once the 'stealth doors' are open then it may as well be an F-15.

I may be wrong (it wouldn't be the first time!)

[Courtney Mil]

Open, shoot, shut. How many radar sweeps was that?

[MSOCS]

Hempy, Ad Hominem to KenV's post isn't helpful chum. Can we all please leave the personal issues at the door now, and perhaps move on with some considered debate? Perhaps it also might help if posters signposted 'fact', 'opinion' or 'guess' behind their posts. That way we don't start demanding evidence or a source behind a held opinion or guess.

Just a thought (opinion)

I also can't see the link between gr's video link and this thread. Other than the fact we have impressive CIWS....

[LowObservable]

Other than the fact we have impressive CIWS....

Unfortunately we don't have a monopoly...





... and defending HVTs against slow glide bombs is what they're for.

[MSOCS]

Perhaps we need to design a swarm of weaponised, ill-tempered Sea Bass, armed with frickin' laser beams.

[Courtney Mil]

So it's the bombs that are now obsolete?

[MSOCS]

Apparently so. Or maybe. Just maybe. There's a systems-of-systems based approach to absolutely everything the military does.

Effects-based operations. I should ™ that.

[glad rag]

Originally Posted by Courtney Mil

So it's the bombs that are now obsolete?

Depends what you're bombing I suppose......

[glad rag]

Originally Posted by MSOCS

Perhaps we need to design a swarm of weaponised, ill-tempered Sea Bass, armed with frickin' laser beams.

Sharks It's SHARKS with frikken lasers...besides it's BASS not SEA BASS you've been shopping in tesco's too much.

[Army Mover]

Originally Posted by glad rag

Sharks It's SHARKS with frikken lasers...besides it's BASS not SEA BASS you've been shopping in tesco's too much.

Sea Bass are much more lethal than the common variety; come with a built in laser foo-foo switcher-offer. (I've never set foot in Tesco's).

[KenV]

...and defending HVTs against slow glide bombs is what they're for.

So we need to develop stealth bombs to go along with the stealth bombers? Which begs the question, what's the RCS of a Mk 80 series bomb? And what's its RCS after adding a JDAM kit? And what's the RCS of a GBU-39/53 SDB?

[LowObservable]

I have no idea, Ken, because aside from anything else you don't specify if it's frontal sector (probably quite small) or from the side (probably quite big). And once you're in range of these bleeders you need a pretty minuscule RCS to make a difference anyway.

[Turbine D]

Effects-based operations. I should ™ that.

The US DoD took note of this comment and liked it very much! As such, they have claimed ownership of it with all the rights that go with it. You should be receiving a letter thanking you for your contribution...

[Turbine D]

So we need to develop stealth bombs to go along with the stealth bombers?

Probably, especially if it takes as long as the F-35 has taken in achieving combat readiness. Detection technology moves along quite rapidly...

[glad rag]

Originally Posted by KenV

So we need to develop stealth bombs to go along with the stealth bombers? Which begs the question, what's the RCS of a Mk 80 series bomb? And what's its RCS after adding a JDAM kit? And what's the RCS of a GBU-39/53 SDB?

Well....apparently the SDB "bomb" has three sensors the first one operated allegedly being a millimetric radar widget so I guess stealthy bomb 0 CIWS 1

Still with 8 in the bays the '35 A and C can swarm the little 182lb buggers all over the place...marvelous mayhem ensured!!

[kbrockman]

Surprise, surprise....the F35 is not the A10 successor

Air Force moving forward with possible A-10 replacement, general says

The Air Force is taking a key step toward developing a dedicated close-air support plane to replace the A-10 "Warthog," a top general said Thursday.

“My requirements guys are in the process of building a draft-requirements document for a follow-on CAS airplane,” Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes, the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, said. “It’s interesting work that at some point we’ll be able to talk [about] with you a little bit more.”

&

The Air Force’s latest plan, reflected in the fiscal 2017 budget request, is to retire the A-10 by fiscal 2022. But in the out-years, the F-35 can only partially fill the capability gap left by the A-10, officials have said

“I would never look at you and tell you, 'Hey, the replacement, one-for-one, for the A-10 is the F-35,' ” said Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein last month

[MSOCS]

Nobody in their right mind would say the F-35 is a 1-for-1 replacement for the venerable A-10. If they do, it's marketing spiel and utter bolleaux. Odd that the JORD states it but nobody believed it.

If the USAF want a dedicated CAS monster, good for them. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt!

[LowObservable]

Very true. But...

Who are you and what have you done with MSOCS?

[KenV]

Any good piece of news about F-35 program?

Don't know if this counts as "good" news, but I'm confident that the orthodox believers will find a way to show this is "bad" news.

Britain To Start Construction Of F-35 Facilities
LONDON — Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and British building firm Balfour Beatty have been contracted by the U.K. defense ministry to build the new facilities that
will support and house the British F-35 fleet. The three companies will share a £142 million ($200 million) to construct three facilities at RAF Marham, Norfolk, the base
selected to become the main operating location for Britain’s F-35 Lightning Force, jointly run by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy.

The three facilities will include a Logistic Operations Center, an Integrated Training Center and a Maintenance and Final Finishes center responsible for the maintenance of the aircraft and its low-observability stealth coatings. The three buildings will be a key element in the U.K.’s requirement for a so-called Freedom of Action capability allowing Britain to conduct F-35 operations independently. Work on the new facilities will begin in the next few weeks, Lockheed Martin U.K. announced April 7, with the facilities due to be ready for the first British frontline F-35 unit, 617 Sqn. – known as The Dambusters — to begin using them during the summer of 2018.
Of the £142 million, £118 million has been awarded to PROGRAMS subcontractor BAE Systems, who will manage the project, while £82.5 million will go Balfour Beatty for the construction work itself.

Three separate contracts for the U.K. Defense Infrastructure Organization (DIO), worth a total of £25 million, have been awarded to prepare electrical power supplies, local utilities and demolish old buildings to make way for the new F-35 facilities. The announcement coincides with the completion of the tenth aft section being built for the U.K.’s F-35 fleet.

Britain currently has four F-35Bs operational: three at Edwards AFB, California, and one located at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, to support training. The size of the U.K. fleet should double during 2016 with the arrival of four more aircraft, the first of which, BK-5, is expected at Beaufort in May. The rest of the aircraft also will be delivered to Beaufort, allowing the U.K. to begin standing up 617 Sqn. from within a U.S. Marine Corps unit, VMFAT-501, during 2018. 617 Sqn. will move back to the U.K. in the summer of 2018 and move into the new facilities at Marham. Additional works also are planned for Marham including the construction of hover pads and improvements to taxiways and runways ready for F-35 operations. The DIO has been asked by Aviation Week when work on this additional infrastructure will
get underway, but the organization had not replied at the time of publication.

[KenV]

Odd that the JORD states it but nobody believed it.

How long before someone claims LM paid off someone in uniform to include this in the JORD?