F-35 Lightning II - Discussione Ufficiale

[engine]

Trovato !   O no ?   

https://www.prpchannel.com/f-35-giappone/

Notizie " apocalittiche " dalla fiera di Istanbul     : 

https://www.lantidiplomatico.it/dettnews-erdogan_il_progetto_f35_senza_la_turchia__destinato_a_crollare/27922_28208/

Modificato 30 Aprile 2019 da engine

[TT-1 Pinto]

44 minuti fa, engine ha scritto:

Trovato !   O no ?   

https://www.prpchannel.com/f-35-giappone/

Notizie " apocalittiche " dalla fiera di Istanbul     : 

https://www.lantidiplomatico.it/dettnews-erdogan_il_progetto_f35_senza_la_turchia__destinato_a_crollare/27922_28208/

Giappone ... la cosa non è ancora sicura ... https://thediplomat.com/2019/04/has-japans-crashed-f-35a-stealth-fighter-been-found/ ...

Turchia ... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-usa-defence/erdogan-says-f-35-project-would-collapse-without-turkey-idUSKCN1S60RR ...

Siamo sicuri che il presidente consumi solo bevande analcoliche ?

[TT-1 Pinto]

Battesimo del fuoco per gli F-35A dell' USAF ...

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The U.S. Air Force has finally flown its variant of the F-35 in combat, using two of the aircraft to take out an ISIS tunnel network and weapons cache in Iraq on April 30.
Tuesday’s airstrikes - the first U.S. use of the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing model at war - follow the combat employment Israel Defense Forces’ F-35As in May 2018 and U.S. Marine Corps’ F-35Bs in September 2018.
According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command, the airstrike occurred at Wadi Ashai, in northeast Iraq. 
An April 24 news release from U.S. Central Command (*) stated that ISIS fighters “have been attempting to move munitions, equipment and personnel” to Wadi Ashai in order to “set conditions for their resurgence,” prompting a counter-offensive by Iraqi Security Forces and supported by Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.

... defensenews.com ... US Air Force conducts airstrikes with F-35 for first time ever ...

(*) ... U.S. Air Force F-35As conduct first combat employment ...

[fabio-22raptor]

Sidewinder e riflettori radar contro i guardoni.  

[TT-1 Pinto]

5 ore fa, fabio-22raptor ha scritto:

Sidewinder e riflettori radar contro i guardoni.  

Infatti ... thedrive.com/the-war-zone ... USAF F-35As Flew First-Ever Combat Strikes With Radar Reflectors And Sidewinders Fitted ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

AIM-120 ... da quattro a sei ... ma solo per gli "A" e i "C" ...

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Lockheed ‘Sidekick’ Will Raise F-35 Missile Capacity ...

Steve Trimble - Aerospace Daily & Defense Report (AW&ST) - May 1, 2019

A device called Sidekick will allow a U.S. Air Force or Navy version of the F-35 to carry six AIM-120 missiles internally instead of four, a Lockheed Martin official says.
The comments by F-35 test pilot Tony Wilson on May 1 come as the program continues to define the details of a 10-year modernization program for the F-35 called Block 4. 
The upgrades are expected to allow the F-35 to carry improved sensors and new weapons.
But it’s also possible that the F-35 will be able to carry more air-to-air weapons in the internal bays, which preserve the aircraft’s ability to avoid being tracked by an enemy’s fire control radars at long range.
“What we’ve done is essentially completed trade studies, design and development” of Sidekick, a Lockheed spokesman added. 
“What is left to be fielded would be things like software integration, weapons separation testing, flight testing and airworthiness testing.”
Lockheed hasn’t released details of the design of the Sidekick mechanism. 
The F-35A and F-35C are equipped with two internal bays, with each carrying two AIM-120s or a single AIM-120 and a large bomb such as a 2,000-lb. GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). 
The lift fan aboard the F-35B limits each internal bay to carrying either two AIM-120s or one missile and a 1,000-lb. JDAM.
It’s possible the Sidekick replaces the AIM-120 launch adapter in the high section of the internal bay with a mechanism that can store two of the Raytheon-built, radar-guided missiles in the same space as one now.
The idea of equipping the F-35A and F-35C with a six-missile load-out in the weapons bay has been around for over a decade. 
Until Wilson’s comments during a scheduled media briefing, Lockheed hadn’t discussed the idea publicly in several years. 
“Lockheed Martin has gone out on its own and developed this capability,” Wilson said. 
“And now we’ve let the [joint program office] know that it’s out there. It will be over to [business development] and other people to decide how and when it gets implemented. Lockheed Martin stands ready to help the customer implement it when they want it.”
Separately, an Air Force F-35A deployed to the United Arab Emirates completed an airstrike on an Islamic State target in Iraq on April 30. 
The pilot released a JDAM on the target, which included a tunnel network and weapons cache, according to a statement by Air Forces Central Command. 
The military statement did not describe the results of the strike.
Last year, Israel’s Air Force commander revealed that an F-35I was used in combat for the first time in 2018 in the Middle East. 
The U.S. Marine Corps also announced last September that the F-35B had dropped a weapon on a Taliban target in Afghanistan.

 

[Flaggy]

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The lift fan aboard the F-35B limits each internal bay to carrying either two AIM-120s or one missile and a 1,000-lb. JDAM.

L’articolo viene da Aviation Week che se non erro incorre nello stesso errore dell’ex (di cui non sento la mancanza...) Sweetman.

Da quelle parti devono avere la memoria corta.

Il B in effetti ha le stive più piccole non tanto e non direttamente a causa della presenza del Lift Fan (piazzato dove A e C hanno un serbatoio di carburante), ma a seguito del programma SWAT di riduzione del peso.

Insomma, in origine il progetto del B prevedeva stive simili ad A e del C, pur avendo il lift fan, ma si decise di accorciarle per ridurne il peso strutturale (tanto più grande è il “buco” in una struttura tanto più questa deve essere rinforzata perimetralmente ad esso).

Come se non bastasse, a guardare le immagini, le stive del B sono più corte dietro, non davanti dove c’è il lift fan e dove le differenze, pur presenti, non sono così marcate (basta vedere la loro sistanza dalle prese d'aria che non è poi cos' diversa).

Va comunque detto che anni fa era stato diffuso un video di cui qui avevo anche estrapolato un frame, in cui si vedeva uno spaccato del B con 6 missili AIM-120 all’interno.

Ammesso e non concesso che quell'immagine (poco chiara) si riferisse alla nuova configurazione delle stive del B, all’atto pratico del progetto di dettaglio devono aver verificato che il sistema studiato per imbarcarne due accoppiati invece che uno al pilone esterno di ciscuna delle due stive sia inadatto al B, che avendo le stive meno lunghe (e profonde) non consente di piazzare i missili opportunamente scalati per evitare l’interferenza delle pinne.

Motivi analoghi, dovuti però agli ingombri delle prese d’aria dei Meteor, temo impediscano l’adozione della "soluzione doppia" anche su A e C in concomitanza con l’utilizzo di tale missile al posto del meno ingombrante Amraam.

 

Sempre dalla stessa fonte, che cita però il Pentagono, si commenta la questione costi di gestione, con il target cui punta il costruttore di 25000 $/ora entro il 2025 che non è ritenuto realistico.

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“All of those levers that are in the LSP give us the confidence that we can go from $44,000 a flight hour to $34,000 a flight hour in 2024,” Winter said.

The LSP has the $25,000 flight hour stretch goal by 2025 in the document. “That will be very, very hard to meet but it’s FY ‘19 right now and we have a number of years,” he said.

https://aviationweek.com/defense/pentagon-says-f-35-flight-hour-stretch-goal-unachievable

Palla di vetro cercasi...

 

 

Modificato 3 Maggio 2019 da Flaggy

[TT-1 Pinto]

A proposito del contenimento dei costi di gestione ... altre fonti ...

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/05/02/one-of-the-f-35s-cost-goals-may-be-unattainable/

http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2019/May 2019/JPO-Seeks-to-Slash-F-35A-Flight-Hour-Costs.aspx

[TT-1 Pinto]

Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ... la telenovela continua ...

Dal sito dell' AFA ...

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Congress Debates F-35 Sale to Turkey, DOD Looks at Alternatives to Turkish-Produced Parts ...

Bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have introduced bills aimed at blocking the sale of F-35s to Turkey if it purchases the Russian-made S-400 missile system. 
The bill is sponsored in the House by Reps. Mike Turner (R-Ohio); John Garamendi (D-Calif.); and Paul Cook (R-Calif.) with a companion bill in the Senate from Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). 
Turner in a statement said though Turkey is an ally, it is “choosing to jeopardize its F-35 partner status for dealings with the Russian federation.” 
The country has said it is a “done deal” to buy the S-400 system despite concerns from US and NATO. 
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said last week there are still talks with Turkey to dissuade them from the decision to buy the missile system. 
However, he is also meeting with Lockheed Martin and United Technologies Corp. to find ways to move ahead with F-35 production if the Joint Program Office needs to cut off the seven Turkish companies that produce parts for the jet. 
“They are our strategic partner,” he said, though “S-400s and F-35s don’t go together. That’s a big bump.” 
During a visit to Turkey on Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with that country’s leadership and credited them with “active contributions to collective defense of the alliance,” according to a statement.

- Brian Everstine

La Russia, nel contempo, non sta con le mani in mano e gioca la sua carta ...

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Russia is “ready to cooperate” with Turkey to sell its new-generation Su-57 fighter jet in case the Ankara government and Turkish companies are expelled from the U.S.-led F-35 program, according to a senior Russian defense official.
“These fifth-generation Russian fighter jets [Su-57] have outstanding qualities, and show promise for export,” said Sergei Chemezov, head of Russia’s state-owned Rostec Corporation.

... defensenews.com ... Russia pitches Turkey the Su-57 fighter jet if F-35 deal with US collapses ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Turchia ... l' eventuale alternativa russa al JSF ...
Un commento da AINonline ...

... IDEF’19: Su-57 May Provide Turkey with an F-35 Alternative ...

[fabio-22raptor]

Mi sa che se il simpatico “amico della democrazia” turco non si leva dalle scatole si rischia. E non mi riferisco solo ad un manipolo di Su-57 che la Russia cerca di vendere a chicchessia pur di ammortizzare i costi (che si stanno dimostrando proibitivi senza l’apporto indiano). Al di là di tutte le cose riportate nell’articolo, al quale i turchi potrebbero essere interessati, c’è da domandarsi quanto, ad oggi, la Turchia sia un Paese NATO. F-35 o meno. 

[Flaggy]

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Come detto, la Sidekick è destinata unicamente alle varianti a decollo convenzionale del LIGHTNING II, non essendo applicabile alla versione F-35B STOVL per mancanza di spazio nelle baie armamenti che risultano di dimensioni inferiori (sono più corte di circa 14 pollici) a causa della presenza della ventola aggiuntiva orientabile del motore - la cosiddetta “Lift Fan” - parte del sistema propulsivo STOVL.

 

http://www.portaledifesa.it/index~phppag,3_id,3027.html

 

Anche RID vede il lift fan (sarà che è bello grosso...) e ci ricorda i 14 pollici in meno di stiva, ma non si accorge che sono stati tolti dietro e non davanti.

Come se non bastasse inserisce nell’articolo proprio il frame del video di cui parlavo: cioè proprio mentre scrive che il nuovo Sidekick non è destinato all’F-35B, ci propone un’immagine in cui in stiva dello STOVL ci sono 6 missili.

Un po’ di attenzione in più non guasterebbe da una rivista specializzata che si suppone debba fare chiarezza…

[TT-1 Pinto]

LM punta alla fatidica 'quota 80', quale costo in milioni di dollari a esemplare, per il lotto 14 ...

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Lockheed Martin has made its opening offer to the F-35 Joint Program Office for negotiations on production Lots 12-14, and it expects to deliver on its previous agreement to get to $80 million a copy or less - for the airplane and engine - by 2020.
“We currently have an offer submitted to the Department of Defense for Lots 12-14 that is below the $80 million F-35A for Lot 14 in 2020, per our longstanding agreement,” company spokesman Michael Friedman said in an email.
In Lot 11, the unit price for the F-35A - the conventional takeoff and landing version used by the Air Force and several partners and foreign military sales customers - was $89.2 million, a decrease of 5.2 percent from Lot 10. 
Over the next three lots, Lockheed aims to lower the unit price a total of 10 percent further, Friedman said, or an average of 3.3 percent per lot. 
Compared to the initial contract for the first lot, the unit price will have fallen 75 percent.

... airforcemag.com ... Lockheed Opens Negotiations on F-35 Lots 12-14, Aiming Below $80 Million Each ...

[Flaggy]

Stato del programma, nuovi acquisti e retrofit.

http://www.portaledifesa.it/index~phppag,3_id,3028.html

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La disponibilità operativa degli F-35 sta migliorando, ma i dati statistici sono influenzati dai lunghi periodi di fermo macchina per mancanza di ricambi e dal processo in corso per retrofittare i velivoli dei primi lotti produttivi. I velivoli dei lotti produttivi dall'1 al 5 sono stati infatti consegnati con hardware Technology Refresh 1 (TR1), e stanno ora ricevendo i processori, i banchi di memoria e le altre modifiche necessarie per arrivare all'attuale standard, il TR2 con software Block 3F. I retrofit di tutti gli F-35 a tale standard saranno completati per giugno 2020.

[fabio-22raptor]

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/27932/f-35-aggressor-squadron-to-be-activated-at-nellis-air-force-base

 

Stanno riattivando il 65th AGRS SQN lì alla Nellis AFB. E gli F-35 ne faranno parte. 

[engine]

In effetti si era già visto un accenno : 

 

Ora , da modellista , sarò curioso di vedere che mimetiche useranno : nero " alla cinese " , pixel  "  alla 'pazzire "  o  segmentario " alla russa "  ? 

Modificato 10 Maggio 2019 da engine

[engine]

Intanto il marinaio si fa un giretto ... a terra

https://www.aviation-report.com/il-primo-f-35-della-marina-militare-partecipa-ad-una-elephant-walk-degli-f-35b/

Modificato 10 Maggio 2019 da engine

[nik978]

49 minutes ago, engine said:

In effetti si era già visto un accenno : 

 

Ora , da modellista , sarò curioso di vedere che mimetiche useranno : nero " alla cinese " , pixel  "  alla 'pazzire "  o  segmentario " alla russa "  ? 

Va detto che i cinesi nella mass production si sono discostati dal nero (che io adoro)

[TT-1 Pinto]

ALIS continua ad creare problemi ?
Chiamate il "Cappellaio Matto" ... 

 

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Mad Hatter, the Air Force-led software coding effort tackling the F-35’s troubled Autonomic Logistics Information System, delivered its initial applications to the flightline at Nellis AFB, Nev., last week, a service official said May 9.
“The first two applications that we fielded don’t interact with ALIS,” Steve Wert, the Air Force’s digital program executive officer, said at a National Defense Industrial Association conference. 
“They are separate applications that help the maintainers do things that they were doing outside of ALIS anyway. 
They were using Excel spreadsheets and handwritten notes and then having to re-enter those things. … They were pain points.”
Future applications will work directly with ALIS itself, Wert said. 
The Air Force’s Kessel Run coding team is collaborating on Mad Hatter with fighter jet manufacturer Lockheed Martin, the F-35 Joint Program Office, and Silicon Valley-based Pivotal, which helps the Air Force learn agile software development.

... airforcemag.com ... Mad Hatter Begins Delivering Apps to F-35 Flightline ...

Qualche mese prima ...

... defensenews.com ... Here we have the poster child for how not to develop technology ...

... defensenews.com ... How the US Air Force’s Kessel Run team plans to solve one of the F-35 program’s biggest headaches ...

... airforcemag.com ... Kessel Run’s Success Spurs Two New Software Coding Teams ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ... 
... il Pentagono sta cercando nuovi fornitori di parti di ricambio in caso di estromissione della Turchia dal programma JSF ...

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The Defense Department is seeking alternate suppliers for parts of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter currently provided by Turkish companies, as Turkey’s pursuit of a Russian air defense system threatens its continued participation in the jet program.
The Pentagon has made clear that it will not allow Turkey to buy F-35 jets if it also buys the S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft system. 
Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters today that Turkey would also not be allowed to remain involved in supplying parts for the jets, and that the program has “for some time” been looking elsewhere for potential suppliers.
“The U.S. continues to speak with Turkey on a routine basis. We have been very clear that the F-35 and the S-400 are incompatible. We have had Turkey as a NATO ally for many years, they’re also a very good supplier on the F-35 program. Those partners in the F-35 program are awarded supply chain contracts on the basis of value,” she said.
“We have for some time now been working to look at alternate sources of supply for the F-35 supply chain that is inside Turkey right now; that being said, we continue to work with Turkey and hope that they will use a NATO-compliant system for their air defense system.”

... news.usni.org ... Pentagon Seeking Potential Replacements for Turkish F-35 Parts ...

Se, dalle nostre parti, chi di dovere cominciasse a farsi avanti ...

Ma c'è da sperarci poco ... 

Modificato 13 Maggio 2019 da TT-1 Pinto
***

[engine]

Forse toccherà ai polacchi     : 

https://www.prpchannel.com/f-35-la-polonia-pronta-a-comprare-32-jsf/

i quali , dopo sei anni di occupazione nazista e quarantaquattro anni di occupazione comunista ( con fosse di Katyn ), non sono più disposti a sottomettersi     .

[TT-1 Pinto]

2 ore fa, engine ha scritto:

Forse toccherà ai polacchi     : 

https://www.prpchannel.com/f-35-la-polonia-pronta-a-comprare-32-jsf/

i quali , dopo sei anni di occupazione nazista e quarantaquattro anni di occupazione comunista ( con fosse di Katyn ), non sono più disposti a sottomettersi     .

E' una notizia che era già nell'aria da qualche tempo ...

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/poland-eyes-f-35-for-harpia-requirement-456554/

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/poland-hopeful-of-speeding-f-35-acquisition-457275/

... ora i Polacchi si stanno adoperando per portare in porto l'affare ...

Vi sarà una qualche possibilità che vengano prodotti in Italia ?

[engine]

Con questo governo ?  Non credo proprio, soprattutto perchè la produzione non si può dire realmente lanciata, visti i tentennamenti.

[TT-1 Pinto]

Turchia, F-35 & S-400 ...
... l'ora della verità si avvicina ...

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Russia could deliver the S-400 anti-aircraft system to Turkey before July possibly forcing the USA to withhold delivery of Ankara’s F-35A stealth fighters.
The US and its allies are concerned that Turkey’s plan to buy the Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system could expose vulnerabilities of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II – weaknesses which could then be exploited by Russia. 
Ankara has dismissed those concerns, says it is going forward with the delivery of the S-400 and expects Washington to deliver its F-35 aircraft in due course.

... flightglobal.com ... USA-Turkey F-35 crisis grows with S-400 delivery before July ...