F-35 Cancelled, then what ?
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Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Combat use (again?)
A source reporting that a Israeli Air Force F-35A was (again?) believed to be used in a recent strike on Syria.
Plus 3 more new jets just arrived in country.
Israel launches missile attacks on Syria
Plus 3 more new jets just arrived in country.
Israel launches missile attacks on Syria
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A source reporting that a Israeli Air Force F-35A was (again?) believed to be used in a recent strike on Syria.
Plus 3 more new jets just arrived in country.
Israel launches missile attacks on Syria
Plus 3 more new jets just arrived in country.
Israel launches missile attacks on Syria
Yes I was wondering the same- the article uses the words missiles and "bombed"- or of course the F-35 could have been part of the raid but not the drop ship....
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F-35 GAO Report 24 Apr 2017:
U.S. GAO - F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: DOD Needs to Complete Developmental Testing Before Making Significant New Investments
49 page PDF: http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/684207.pdf (2.1Mb)
One page PDF HIGHlites: http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/684208.pdf (162Kb)
U.S. GAO - F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: DOD Needs to Complete Developmental Testing Before Making Significant New Investments
49 page PDF: http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/684207.pdf (2.1Mb)
One page PDF HIGHlites: http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/684208.pdf (162Kb)
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Let's see if I have this right: the aircraft is a year from completing the development phase; initial OT&E won't even start for another year; and yet the USAF and USMC have declared IOC and the aircraft is deployed operationally.
Don't forget that the Israeli Airforce has already started to use it to bomb Syrian targets.
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'TLB' would this opinion have any bearing? [20 Apr 2017]
"...Service leaders have urged moving forward with Block 4 development plans because of the need to stay ahead of the rapidly advancing threat of adversary air defense systems and aircraft. They also base that suggestion on experience with operational F-35s, which they have said are performing well and meeting or exceeding expectations, even with the transitional 3i software." http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/...F-is-Done.aspx
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Let's see if I have this right: the aircraft is a year from completing the development phase; initial OT&E won't even start for another year; and yet the USAF and USMC have declared IOC and the aircraft is deployed operationally.
It is the leading 5th gen asset on the planet... and we still have p*ssers and mo*ners who bask in their orgy of criticism.
Delighted to be on this side of the F-35 fence.
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Latest F-35 Flight Hours:
"...more than 90,000 F-35 flight hours." 26 Apr 2017 https://www.f35.com/news/detail/lock...gistics-system
Here we go again..... 5th generation. Someone has swallowed the advertising blurb. It is only 5th generation when it is used in a stealth mode. Has it???? If not then it is only another modern jet.
Buster, look a few posts above yours. IF the Israeli F-35's were used on these recent combat raids do you think they were squawking proper codes and talking with Syrian airspace controllers? I think not.
I also imagine they have been using their 5th generation advantages in many recent exercises...
I am sure that the Israeli AF are very secretive about how they use their jets. The point I am trying to make is about the title 5th generation and from that, that the inference all pre so called 5th generation aircraft are somehow inferior. There are lots of attributes that for example Typhoon or F18 Growler posess that F35 does not. Just because they are not termed 5th generation doesn't render them inferior. LO is likely to become defeated at some point and then the real question is whether F35 remains the most capable jet on the planet...
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Buster. 5th Gen is not just "stealth" so your statement is a little short of the whole truth. 5th Gen is taking multiple data sources from sensors both on and off the F-35 and fusing them to provide the best, correlated and "adjudicated" version of environmental truth that is possible. 5th Gen is also about networking that data, not just amongst other F-35 either. The stealth part simply makes the whole platform a lot less vulnerable and very pervasive as a threat to the enemy.
The information bit is often glossed over but given the anticipated confusion and cluttered nature of future warfare, knowing what's going on around you will dictate whether you live or die, succeed or fail.
PS - you're right about Typhoon and Growler etc. These have design and capability making them stronger in specific areas like sustained manoeuvre, acceleration and EW. Thus the important part is interoperability, or "5th/4th". This is where we are finding much synergy, commented upon recently during Ex ATLANTIC TRIDENT 17.
The information bit is often glossed over but given the anticipated confusion and cluttered nature of future warfare, knowing what's going on around you will dictate whether you live or die, succeed or fail.
PS - you're right about Typhoon and Growler etc. These have design and capability making them stronger in specific areas like sustained manoeuvre, acceleration and EW. Thus the important part is interoperability, or "5th/4th". This is where we are finding much synergy, commented upon recently during Ex ATLANTIC TRIDENT 17.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
That'll the operational aircraft with 90K hours behind it then? No doubt that is one of the reasons for wanting to retire the F-15C, got to find the money from somewhere. Also interesting they are working to keep it out of the purview of Congress....
DOD may reduce JSF procurement to cover development delay
A Government Accountability Office report released this week reveals the Defense Department may reduce F-35 Joint Strike Fighter procurement funding between fiscal years 2018 and 2020 to pay for system development and demonstration delays.
The program estimates it will need about $532 million to pay for a five-month delay to closing the JSF's development phase, and the GAO report states that the bulk of that money -- about $353 million -- would be needed in FY-18, according to preliminary budget projections. The Pentagon is expected to deliver its FY-18 budget request to Congress by the end of May.
To address that gap, the program plans to pull $451 million from procurement funding between FY-18 and FY-20 and redirect it toward SDD completion. The report states the program would then try to reprogram funds from elsewhere in the budget to recoup the procurement funds."According to program officials, the majority of the reprogramming actions will be below the threshold that triggers prior approval of the congressional defense committees per DOD policy," the report states.
One exception to that will be $57.9 million in Marine Corps aircraft modification funding, which will need to be approved by Congress.
Even with that budget maneuvering, the program would need to find another source to fund the additional $81 million it projects it will need to complete SDD, the report states.
DOD may reduce JSF procurement to cover development delay
A Government Accountability Office report released this week reveals the Defense Department may reduce F-35 Joint Strike Fighter procurement funding between fiscal years 2018 and 2020 to pay for system development and demonstration delays.
The program estimates it will need about $532 million to pay for a five-month delay to closing the JSF's development phase, and the GAO report states that the bulk of that money -- about $353 million -- would be needed in FY-18, according to preliminary budget projections. The Pentagon is expected to deliver its FY-18 budget request to Congress by the end of May.
To address that gap, the program plans to pull $451 million from procurement funding between FY-18 and FY-20 and redirect it toward SDD completion. The report states the program would then try to reprogram funds from elsewhere in the budget to recoup the procurement funds."According to program officials, the majority of the reprogramming actions will be below the threshold that triggers prior approval of the congressional defense committees per DOD policy," the report states.
One exception to that will be $57.9 million in Marine Corps aircraft modification funding, which will need to be approved by Congress.
Even with that budget maneuvering, the program would need to find another source to fund the additional $81 million it projects it will need to complete SDD, the report states.
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Who Knows if this Reps/Senate Budget 01 May 2017 will be signed by the President - this Friday is deadline.
"...The bill funds 74 F-35 fighter jets at $8.2 billion..." US lawmakers reach 2017 budget deal through September
"...The Navy would be able to buy... two additional Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighters.... The Marine Corps would receive funding for four additional Joint Strike Fighters – two F-35B short-takeoff and vertical-landing variants and two F-35C carrier variants..." https://news.usni.org/2017/05/01/omn...ing#more-25436
@ORAC
Gee, this sounds familiar, didn't we hear this same song about 15 years ago as it was getting off the rails after the winning design was selected?
The report states the program would then try to reprogram funds from elsewhere in the budget to recoup the procurement funds. "According to program officials, the majority of the reprogramming actions will be below the threshold that triggers prior approval of the congressional defense committees per DOD policy," the report states.
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But in my mind the important thing is that USAF has finally well and truly bought into the idea that an all stealth fleet of F-22s and F-35s is not a good idea, nor is it affordable. USAF has come around to the Navy idea of a mixed fleet of legacy aircraft (Super Hornet) and F-35. The question is will the USAF F-35s be mixed with SLEPed F-16s or F-15s? My bet is that they'll ultimately go with the F-15. But who knows?