golder,

Seeing how integrated and centralised the support network for Lightning is, I rather think the fact that the RAF already has Lightning aircraft stationed here in the UK, that the entire UK fleet is going to be stationed here, and that Sealand is already a central global point for Lightning avionics servicing, overhaul and repair, all rather voids the paranoid Senator's point.

I really do not see how these non core elements of a mobile network can be any kind of security threat.

I think the Chinese stuff messes up the US surveillance stuff. I think it's a turf thing.:E
much the same as this
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51487856
For decades, US and German intelligence used this Swiss company's encoding devices to spy on other countries, and the revelations this week have provoked outrage.

Ummm... is it just me, or are RAFEngO74to09's #163 and ORAC's #164 blank? Wtf?

airsound

I see two Twitter sourced graphics which, when clicked, will take you to and respectively.

EAP

Interesting EAP, thanks! I do tweet, but I see nothing in posts #163 and #164 - and, indeed, the URLs (I assume that's what they are) in your post are also blank....

Ooher missus

airsound

I've no idea whats going on., Sometimes they appear then they disappear. I'm obviously not nerd enough...

EAP

Time for bed, said Zebedee. it'll be all right in the morning

airsound

Nope! Still both blank for me.. :suspect:

Edit..
Tried a different browser. Blank on Firefox but visable on Microsoft edge!

They've never gone from my machine.......... you should PM the mods or stick the question in the computer forum on here - there are people there who know all there is to be knowed about this

Congratulations To Commander Mark Sparrow RN
 

Congratulations to Commander Mark Sparrow RN on assuming command of 617 Squadron. I believe his father Mike Sparrow served on the Squadron as a first tourist during the Vulcan era.

20 May 2020 Eglin F-35A Crash thread is here; let's segregate the discussion on that accident from the "general" F-35 thread please.

AW&ST: Delays Cause Two-Year, $1.5B Extension For F-35 Block 4

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said on May 12 that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Block 4 program must be extended two years due to development delays, adding $1.5 billion to the overall price tag.

The original schedule called for completing the Block 4 modernization program in 2024, but the timeline must be extended to 2026, GAO said in the watchdog agency’s annual review of the F-35 program.

The F-35 Joint Program Office initially estimated the cost to develop all 66 new capabilities in Block 4 would be $10.6 billion. The two-year extension to deliver Block 4 raises the development cost to $12.1 billion, with another $3.4 billion budgeted to procure and insert the capabilities in future U.S. F-35s, GAO said.

The Block 4 delays started in 2019. Lockheed planned to deliver the first eight Block 4 capabilities last year, but only one—the automatic ground collision avoidance system—entered service, GAO said.

In another example, Lockheed delivered software last year to enable the interim full-motion video capability for the Marine Corps F-35Bs, but failed to deliver the associated hardware, the report said.

As Block 4 capabilities have entered testing, the Defense Department’s operational testers have noticed other problems. Some of the new capabilities have “caused issues” with existing F-35 functions that previously worked, GAO said. “The contractor had not performed adequate testing of the software before delivering it to the test fleet,” GAO said.........

For the record, $12.1 billion is more than half the estimated EMD bill for the B-21 bomber, and approximately five times the cost of the Rafale Standard F4 upgrade, which is at least as comprehensive as F-35 Block 4.

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/617-dam...beth-1-6667932

RAF Marham F-35 Dambusters set to join carrier

Rhino power,

It didn't 'suffer' anything, it was part of a planned low power catapult launch trial.

Ok, let's try this again...

F-35 low power cat shot test

-RP

Wouldn't recommend trying that when there's a bit of a sea running.

Newly released images: Four 617 Squadron F-35 Jets landed on @HMSQNLZ in the North Sea today

Twitter

F-35A hot pit refueling

https://www.eielson.af.mil/News/Arti...ing-for-f-35a/

This one was hotter

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/y...nding-at-hill/

Must be using drums and `wobble` pumps if it takes up to an hour to `hot` refuel......

Article & photos on Flight Global.
UK embarks first operational F-35Bs in HMS Queen Elizabeth work-up

https://breakingdefense.com/2020/06/...-senate-clash/

HASC NDAA Cuts F-35, Adds Sub, Sets Up Senate Clash

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are an impressive $2 billion apart on the F-35, with the HASC hoping to cut upgrades, depots and other support for the controversial Joint Strike Fighter while the SASC seeks to buy more jets.

UPDATE “The F-35 program is troubled enough as it is,” a House Armed Services Committee aide told reporters this afternoon. It’s premature to pile on more funding for more aircraft, they said, “until the vendor demonstrates they are able to produce F-35s on time.”.......

W.r.t Belgian procurement, it is having a slight knock on effect with their Defense budget especially with the A400M purchase which is leading to musings of retiring their NH90 TTH version along with an UAS.

https://www.defense-aerospace.com/ar...omplexity.html

Was it just me ? Thought I heard those stealthy jets in the middle
of last. Loud low frequency noise for a while. I live not far from Marham.
Were they perhaps returning from sea ?

F35 on a UK carrier
 

I know it’s been a long time coming and I also know that many people on here will complain regardless of what is achieved.

I, for one, think now is a good time to recognise that the sight of our own jets flying from our own carrier (one of two) is pretty bloody cool.

BV

Well said. The whole ship/crew/fast jet/rotary wing integrated operation looks very impressive. It’s a fantastic achievement by all concerned.

+1

-RP

(additional characters to meet 10 character reply minimum)

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020...turkish-f-35s/

It’s official: US Air Force to buy Turkish F-35s

WASHINGTON — After a year of speculation about what would happen to Turkey’s F-35s after the country was ousted from the joint strike fighter program last year, the Defense Department gave its definitive answer Monday evening in a characteristically anticlimactic manner — through its daily contract announcements.

The U.S. Air Force will officially buy eight F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jets originally built by Lockheed Martin for Turkey as part of a $862 million contract modification. The deal also contains an additional six F-35As built for the Air Force and modifications that will bring the Turkish jets in line with the U.S. configuration.

A defense official told Defense News on Tuesday that the contract modification fulfills stipulations in Congress’ fiscal year 2020 defense policy and spending bills. It “addresses the eight production Lot 14 F-35A aircraft originally planned to be delivered to Turkey in 2022-23,” and redirects those jets to the U.S. Air Force when they roll off the production line. The six other F-35As reflect aircraft added to the FY20 defense budget.

The contract modification uses funding from the FY20 budget to pay for the Lot 14 jets. The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin finalized a deal for lots 12, 13 and 14 in October 2019, which set the price of an Lot 14 A model at $77.9 million per copy.

Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35As over the course of the program, but was ejected from the program last July after accepting the S-400 air defense system from Russia after repeated warnings from U.S. officials. At that point, Turkey’s first F-35s had already rolled off the production line and its pilots and maintainers were training to fly and fix them stateside alongside U.S. personnel at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., and Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. However, the aircraft were never officially delivered to Turkey.

Since then, the fate of Turkey’s jets had been an open question. In January, Defense Onereported that 24 Turkish F-35s were in some stage of production, but top Pentagon weapons buyer Ellen Lord told reporters then that Washington and Ankara had not come to an agreement on what would happen to them.

In the FY20 version of the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress gave the Pentagon permission to spend up to $30 million to fly the first six Turkish F-35s to a location where they could be stored and preserved until the department came up with a plan for their use. Those jets, which were produced in Lots 10 and 11, are currently being held “in long-term storage in the United States pending final decision on their disposition,” the defense official said.

The Senate’s version of the FY21 NDAA, which is still working its way through Congress, contains additional language that would allow the Air Force to accept, operate or even modify the first six Turkish F-35s.

USAF F-35A Demonstration Team Display Profile:

F-35A "Pedal Turn" explained:

First F-35B for the Italian AF. Current planned procurement is 60 x F-35A for + 15 x F-35B for the Italian AF and 15 x F-35B for Italian Navy.

https://theaviationist.com/2020/07/3...cept-exercise/

US Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (including "TOPGUN" school) receives first F-35C

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...c-lightning-ii

Stealth obviously not a training priority.....

F-35A B-course student pilots are learning to fly on Beast Mode configuration ? Alert 5

F-35A student pilots are learning to fly on Beast Mode configuration

The U.S. Air Force’s 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base is teaching its B-Course student pilots how to fly the F-35A in Beast Mode configuration.

The training philosophy is that by having to fly with a maximum strike weapons configuration, it creates a heightened sense of awareness for the student pilot and allows for a more realistic training experience that will be needed for combat.......


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....f4fe90a79.jpeg