Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

Grey Havoc said:
NeilChapman said:
Flyaway said:
Lockheed F-35 programme extended to 2070

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lockheed-f-35-programme-extended-to-2070-423536/

How will they get to those numbers of flight hours? F-22 has like an 8k hour service life - and it won't make that without some serious modifications.

As I've said before elsewhere, insanity is one of the few things that's not in short supply these days.

I've read of plans to possibly re-engine but I didn't know it was part of the program. Does anyone know where I can read the "lifecycle extension" plan?
 
NeilChapman said:
Flyaway said:
Lockheed F-35 programme extended to 2070

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lockheed-f-35-programme-extended-to-2070-423536/

How will they get to those numbers of flight hours? F-22 has like an 8k hour service life - and it won't make that without some serious modifications.

There's a reason they have and are conducting three lifetime's worth of durability testing on F-35's HTs, VTs and full airframes.
 
http://theaviationist.com/2016/04/01/f-35c-carrier-variant-jsf-drops-first-agm-154-joint-standoff-weapon-jsow/
 
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2016/04/04/israel-seeks-greater-autonomy-f-35-fighter-force/82619792/
 
If they want to pay for all that native support, more power to them.

The F-35 program is better for the "compromises" that were made in order to secure the Israeli "purchase". Thanks to them, there is now the beginnings of an API being put into place that will allow greater competition and innovation within the program.

I am interested in seeing what the Israelis do with AAM missiles. I just hope that it's UAI compatible.
 
Backtracking on their view of the F-35?

http://warisboring.com/articles/why-the-f-35-might-not-suck/
 
Flyaway said:
Backtracking on their view of the F-35?

http://warisboring.com/articles/why-the-f-35-might-not-suck/

Apparently it's a sensitive subject for them. ;)
 
http://www.sldinfo.com/a-new-special-report-the-f-35-arrives-into-the-combat-fleet/
 
Flyaway said:
Backtracking on their view of the F-35?

http://warisboring.com/articles/why-the-f-35-might-not-suck/
Uh.... not really. They said that from beginning of the article - their view on f-35 stays the same. They just allow a platform in which this guy from reuter provide counter arguments, which is what healthy journalism should be, especially on topic as complex and layered as the JSF program.
 
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2016/03/31/air-force-tests-f-35-against-russian-chinese-air-defense-technology/
 
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/strike/2016/04/12/pentagon-pratt-whitney-f35-engine-f135-lrip9-contract/82950130/
 
Israel sets date for F-35 arrival

The first two of Israel's Lockheed Martin F-35I "Adir" fighters are scheduled to land in the nation on 12 December, with another six to be delivered in 2017.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/israel-sets-date-for-f-35-arrival-424353/
 
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/naval/naval-aviation/2016/04/20/f-35b-may-spanish-navys-future/83270268/
 
http://www.janes.com/article/59703/mcas-beaufort-readies-for-expansion-of-f-35b-training-operations
 
Perhaps the most significant issue facing the program over the next two years lies with something that has dogged it for at least a year, since Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, head of F-35 integration, told me in his first interview about it: It’s development of the mission data files or “threat library.” The data on missile launches, frequencies, opponents’ weapons and their sensors come from the Intelligence Community (IC). The Office of Secretary of Defense’s Intelligence Mission Data Center gathers the data from across the IC. Then the $300 million United States Reprogramming Laboratory at Nellis Air Force Base turns that information into threat data for all three versions of the F-35, as well as for its international partners. (That lab will be joined by three more over the next few years, Bogdan said this afternoon.)

This looks like a case where someone simply goofed. “Despite a $45 Million budget provided to the Program Office in FY13, the required equipment was not ordered in time and the USRL is still not configured properly to build and optimize Block 3F Mission Data Files (MDFs). The program still has not designed, contracted for, and ordered all of the required equipment – a process that will take at least two years for some of the complex equipment – after which significant time for installation and check-out will be required,” Michael Gilmore, the head of Operational Testing and Evaluation, said in prepared testimony. When I asked him about this, Bogdan confirmed the situation: “He is right that we didn’t buy this in time.”

Does this really matter? Yes. Gilmore put it simply in his written testimony: “If the situation with the USRL is not rectified, U.S. F-35 forces will be at substantial risk of failure (emphasis added) if used in combat against these threats.”

http://breakingdefense.com/2016/04/mccain-lays-down-law-on-f-35-bulk-buy-kendall-says-it-works/?__hstc=174454333.38a449bbbdcb84d6f43651b42a28a6bb.1461771412330.1461771412330.1461771412330.1&__hssc=174454333.1.1461771412330&__hsfp=3050592305

Improving F-35 Software Reliability
—BRIAN EVERSTINE4/27/2016

​The F-35 Joint Program Office has seen a dramatic increase in the stability of its Block 3i software, which previously caused the jet’s radar to regularly shut down. Pilots flying an earlier version reported a difference in “nanoseconds” of communication between the radar and the jet’s computer, prompting it to shut off once every four hours, Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said. In the past month, test aircraft have flown 44 sorties with a total of 96 flight hours on updated software, and reported 15 hours between stability problems, Bogdan said following a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday. A team of contractors from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and BAE Systems got into the “nitty gritty” of the software to determine bugs and find fixes. The program office expects to make a decision this week on whether this is the right version of the software to go forward with as the Air Force looks to reach initial operational capability later this year.


http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2016/April%202016/April%2027%202016/Improving-F-35-Software-Reliability.aspx

F-35 OT&E Slipping Away
—JOHN A. TIRPAK4/27/2016

​Operational, test, and evaluation of the full-up F-35 will be a minimum of six months behind schedule, though it most likely will be a year late because of a number of issues still vexing the program, Pentagon operational, test, and evaluation director J. Michael Gilmore told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday. Among the issues he thinks will delay OT&E are software instability, “shortfalls” in electronic warfare and electronic attack capability, missile launch warnings as detected by the Digital Aperture System, unacceptably long times needed to complete aerial refueling—“two to three times as long as other aircraft,” classified mission system problems, “gun problems on all variants,” and the Autonomic Logistics Information System. The Air Force F-35A version was supposed to go through IOT&E in October 2017, but now likely won’t enter the test phase until May of 2018, Gilmore said. He said his office will be thorough and make sure the F-35 can do everything it’s supposed to, and wants it to work. “If the F-35 doesn’t succeed,” Gilmore said, “we’ll be in a pickle.” Program Director Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan told the panel he is almost ready to certify that the instability issue is fixed. It will shortly be “behind us,” he said.

http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2016/April%202016/April%2027%202016/F-35-OTE-Slipping-Away.aspx

Go Ask ALIS
—JOHN A. TIRPAK4/27/2016

​It’s almost certain the Air Force will declare initial operating capability with the F-35A closer to Oct. 1 than the long-planned Aug. 1 target date. Top Pentagon acquisition, program, test, and audit officials told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday the F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Information System is the sole culprit for the probable delay. The government-operated ALIS needs to be able to talk with the computer systems of both Lockheed Martin, which builds the F-35, and Pratt & Whitney, which makes its F135 engine, and doing that has been a challenge, particularly given the need to maintain cyber protections at all levels, program director Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said. “All is on track for 1 August 16,” Bogdan said—noting that Hill AFB, Utah, will likely have the necessary jets and maintainers in place by then, “except for ALIS,” which he said is “probably 60 days behind.” Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall said it’s the Air Force that will decide what minimum capability it deems “acceptable” for IOC, but he said he suspected that, like the Marine Corps, USAF won’t declare IOC unless it’s “comfortable” the jet will work as expected with the 3i software package. Both Bogdan and Kendall agreed that F-35 IOC will certainly happen before the mandatory December deadline, noting that August has always been the desired date.

http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2016/April%202016/April%2027%202016/Go-Ask-ALIS.aspx
 
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/could-mv-22-ospreys-really-refuel-the-f-35-joint-strike-16035
 
http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2016/05/f-35-production-set-quadruple-massive-factory-retools/128120/
 
Some gorgeous pictures

https://www.f35.com/in-depth/detail/top-15-f-35-photos-of-2015?sf25794503=1

2Afterburner-Activated-news.jpg
 
http://www.nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/combined-operations-us-marines-teach-the-british-fly-the-f-16083
 
http://www.sldinfo.com/the-f-35-and-21st-century-defence-shaping-a-way-ahead/
 
"F-35 Program Office Signs Off On Air Force 3i Software"
Lara Seligman, Defense News 12:53 p.m. EDT May 9, 2016

Source:
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/2016/05/09/f-35-program-office-signs-off-air-force-3i-software/84138390/

WASHINGTON — The F-35 joint program office has completed development of the Block 3i software the Air Force will use to declare its jets operational later this year, and will soon begin retrofitting the fleet with the improved software load.

The JPO and the F-35 test team have been working overtime for months to fix major bugs in the original Block 3i software. Pilots found that jets’ systems would shut down midflight about once every three or four hours and have to be rebooted. This “choking” effect, which pilots are seeing both in the air and on the ground during startup, is caused in essence by a timing misalignment of the software of the plane’s sensors and the software of its main computers.

But the new, improved version of 3i is a significant improvement, according to the JPO. The new version showed approximately twice the level of stability as the previous load, Block 2B, and three times better stability than the original 3i software, JPO spokesman Joe DellaVedova wrote in a Monday email.

The JPO will begin to upgrade the F-35 fleet with the new 3i software beginning this week, DellaVedova said. The same fixes have also been incorporated into a new version of the Block 2B software, which the Marine Corps used to declare initial operational capability last year. The new version of 2B will be used to start retrofitting the earlier F-35s by the end of May, he noted.

The entire fleet of fielded F-35 jets will eventually be upgraded to the latest 3i and 2B software versions by the end of this year, according to DellaVedova.

The F-35 program is now focused on completing Block 3F, the software load that will give the fleet its full war-fighting capability, he wrote.

Although the JPO has given the new 3i software the green light, test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base, California, are still seeing frequent stability issues on the ground. Officials told Defense News last week that development test pilots at Edwards have trouble booting up their jets about once every three flights.

"The best analogy is you are starting up your computer and you want to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, and you are trying to get your work done for the day, and PowerPoint and Outlook came up but you are having an issue with Excel,” Brendan Rhatigan, F-35 ITF deputy director for Lockheed Martin, told Defense News last week at Edwards. “So you say, I don’t know what’s going on, so let me x out of that, let me restart it again.”
 
"F-35 Test Flights Struggle To Boot Up, But Jets Fly On"
Lara Seligman, Defense News 4:02 a.m. EDT May 9, 2016

Source:
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/strike/2016/05/09/f-35-test-flights-struggle-boot-up-but-jets-fly/84018338/

...ongoing challenges were on full display at Edwards last week during a development test flight of an Air Force F-35A, when the jet's team was on the ground troubleshooting for nearly two hours before the aircraft finally launched.

The problem, which revolves around a glitch in the next increment of F-35 software, is a recurring one that causes the plane’s systems to shut down and have to be rebooted – sometimes even mid-flight.

Officials say development test pilots here have trouble booting up their jets about once out of every three flights, but downplayed the problem, pointing out that the goal of test flights is indeed to test, find problems, and work to fix them.

The F-35 joint program office and test team have largely resolved the software stability issue, which impacts jets loaded with the 3i software package, while the jets are airborne, but pilots are still frequently seeing shutdown events on the ground. And as the Air Force prepares to declare the F-35A operational before the end of the year, such problems are under a microscope.

Defense News was invited to Edwards to view the F-35 development test, or DT, program first hand. In conversations with officials, maintainers and pilots, those involved in the program acknowledged challenges with the software, but expressed optimism about the jets generally.

Although test pilots here often see shutdown events when trying to boot up a cold airplane, Lockheed Martin and government officials stressed that the number of these events that occur during DT is not representative of an operational environment. The DT startup sequence is unique in that the team has to use a special system, the data acquisition recording and telemetry pod, to monitor test data, according to Dan Osburn, F-35 integrated test force (ITF) deputy director and director of projects for the 461st flight test squadron.

Over the course of 40 flights using 3iR6.21 software, a version of the Block 3i software the Air Force needs to declare its F-35A jets operational, 15 experienced one or two shutdown issues while on the ground, said Brendan Rhatigan, F-35 ITF deputy director for Lockheed Martin. Test pilot and 461st flight test squadron commander Lt. Col. Raja Chari’s experience matches up with the raw data: he told Defense News May 3 in a separate interview that he has to re-boot his jet during about half of his flights.

“For a lot of these things, you go re-cycle the particular sensor or computer and the system comes back up, it doesn’t mean you couldn’t launch.” Rhatigan said. “What’s important is how quickly you can get out of the chocks, so when they get into the jet, turn the battery on, start the engine and power up the mission systems, how quickly can they taxi out to the runway?”

The mission impact is minimal, Rhatigan and Osburn said, stressing that the start-up issues never prevented the aircraft from eventually taking off. Chari backed up the claim, adding that when he flew F-15s, it was “rare to not have an event.”

“The best analogy is you are starting up your computer and you want to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, and you are trying to get your work done for the day, and PowerPoint and Outlook came up but you are having an issue with Excel,” Rhatigan said. “So you say, I don’t know what’s going on, so let me x out of that, let me restart it again.”

From that perspective, the team saw an improvement from the prior software release to the 3iR6.21 load, which incorporated solutions meant to fix the stability issues in the air, Rhatigan said. The fix shaved about six minutes on average from pilots’ start-up time.
 
"News Defence Manufacturers & Airframes F-35 locked and loaded with improved Block 3i software"
F-35 locked and loaded with improved Block 3i software
09 May, 2016 BY: James Drew Washington DC

Source:
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/f-35-locked-and-loaded-with-improved-block-3i-softwa-425098/

The F-35 Joint Programme Office (JPO) has stabilised a glitch-prone combination of software and hardware called Block 3i, potentially clearing the way for the US Air Force’s first Lightning II combat squadron to declare initial operational capability (IOC) between August and December.

F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin has been preparing the software load in parallel with the Block 2B configuration that the Marine Corps' first operational F-35B group declared war-ready status with last July.

Developmental flight testing of Block 3i started in May 2014. However, problems caused by re-hosting “immature” Block 2B software and capabilities on new computer processors installed in Block 3i aircraft caused flight testing to be restarted in September 2014 and then again in March 2015, reports the Pentagon's top weapons tester.

Developmental flight testing of Block 3i was then terminated last October and an initial version was released to F-35 units “despite unresolved deficiencies” to prevent wider schedule delays.

The programme office has been grappling with “software stability” issues ever since. Aircraft were reportedly having to shut down and reboot on the tarmac or reset a sensor system or radar "once every 4h". That is an unacceptable failure rate for an operational squadron and significantly worse fault rate compared to earlier Block 2B aircraft, which were only having to reboot once every 30h or more.

F-35 programme director Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan told Congress last month that a failure rate of once every 8-10h or greater would be more acceptable, and recent fixes now seem to have achieved that goal.

“As of 1 May, the F-35 programme has flown more than 100 flight hours with the 3i software and it has shown approximately twice the level of stability as the previously fielded Block 2B software and three times better stability than the original 3i software,” says the JPO on 8 May.

Exactly 114 aircraft from low-rate production batches six, seven and eight will be upgraded to the more stable Block 3i configuration starting this week. Those production lots contained 25 internationally owned aircraft for Italy, Australia, Norway, the UK, Japan and Israel.

The programme office says the latest “stability and mission effectiveness enhancements” from this final Block 3i release have also been incorporated into a new Block 2B update that is being installed in early-model aircraft from production lots two, three, four and five.

That would affect 93 aircraft purchased in those lots, including three UK-owned short takeoff, vertical landing F-35Bs and two Dutch F-35As.

“The entire fleet of fielded F-35 aircraft will eventually be upgraded to these two new software versions by the end of calendar year 2016,” says the programme office. “Concluding Block 2B and 3i development and testing now allows the F-35 programme to focus on completing Block 3F – the full warfighting capability software. The improvements to Block 2B and 3i have been transferred to Block 3F, and all developmental test aircraft and labs have been upgraded to Block 3F.”

The F-35 system development and demonstration (SDD) effort is meant to wrap up in late 2017, which is 16 years after Lockheed won the Joint Strike Fighter contract over Boeing’s X-32-based proposal.

With more than 8 million lines of code controlling every onboard sensor and weapon system, the F-35 is the most complex and software-dependent fighter jet in history.

The Hill AFB’s 34th Fighter Squadron, known as the Rude Rams, reactivated last year to become the USAF's first combat-ready F-35 squadron. The unit recently began training in four-ship combat formations as well as practising detection and jamming of radar sites.

With Block 3i concerns seemingly fading, Lockheed’s full efforts will likely turn to maturing Block 3F and the trouble-prone Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) that manages the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the F-35 weapon system. ALIS has long been identified as the greatest technical risk to USAF IOC.
 
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/revealed-flying-americas-stealthy-new-f-35-joint-strike-16134
 
"Why Only Israel Can Customize America’s F-35 (At Least for Now)"
Eric Adams Transportation Date of Publication: 05.10.16.

Source:
http://www.wired.com/2016/05/israel-can-customize-americas-f-35-least-now/

But an even bigger part of the explanation has to do with Israel’s state of perpetual conflict, which makes it a different sort of ally for the US. Speaking at a conference last month in Tel Aviv, as Defense News reported, Israeli Air Force chief of staff Brigadier General Tal Kalman suggested Israel’s “unique requirements” justify a degree of autonomy with the F-35. Israel is pursuing its own maintenance center at Nevatim Air Base, where the jets will be based. When you might go to war at any moment, the argument goes, you can’t have your best hardware go out of service for weeks at a time for checkouts that can take just a few days on your own turf.
 
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/2016/05/11/danish-government-likely-recommend-buying-f-35s/84249050/
 
http://breakingdefense.com/2016/05/f-35-wins-denmark-competition-trounces-super-hornet-eurofighter/

Screen-Shot-2016-05-12-at-10.19.25-AM.png
 
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-why-denmark-is-holding-formation-with-f-35-425326/
 
bobbymike said:
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-why-denmark-is-holding-formation-with-f-35-425326/
A quote from Flight:
Copenhagen’s assessment was conducted without input from the responses to its request for binding information from potential suppliers. Received in July 2014, these contained information on the conventional take-off and landing F-35A, Eurofighter Typhoon and the two-seat Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet, in response to approximately 950 questions.
 
F-35A firing gun.
 

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Translated from a Norwegian article:

"Superior in dogfights
They elaborate on the experience after one and a half hour of dogfight-training, one on one over White Tank Mountains, the training are west of the base.
The roar of the engines is unmistakable as they return. It's the most powerful engine in any fighter ever and will be noticed well when stationed at Ørland in Norway. “Tintin” is sweating after the maneuvers, and his helmet-hair gets damper when he comes out of the plane into 35 degrees C desert air.
So far the plane is cleared for up to 7g. When the next software update comes alog it will be 9g like the F-16. Even now the F-35 has maneuvering capabilities that makes “Tintin” and “Dolby” rewrite the manual for dogfights. Traditionally, the one with the highest speed has the advantage in dogfights. The F-35 gives the pilots the possibility to maneuver with much higher AOA. In comparison to the F-16 it has much better nose pointing capabilities.
-The ability to point towards my opponent makes me able to deliver a weapon sooner than I'm used to. It forces my opponent to react more defensive and gives me the ability to slow down fast, Hanche says. -Since I can slow down fast I can point my plane at my enemy for longer before the roles are reversed. The backside is that you loose energy, but it's not really a problem. The plane has so much engine power and low drag that the acceleration is awesome. With a F-16 I would have had to dive to gain as much speed after a hard turn.
Hanche has earlier put words to his experience of flying the F-35 in several post on “The combat aircraft blog” Here he describes how the aggressive F-35 gives him the ability to stick to an opponent and keep him in his sights:

“To sum it up, my experience so far is that the F-35 makes it easier for me to maintain the offensive role, and it provides me more opportunities to effectively employ weapons at my opponent.
In the defensive role the same characteristics are valuable. I can «whip» the airplane around in a reactive maneuver while slowing down. The F-35 can actually slow down quicker than you´d be able to emergency brake your car. This is important because my opponent has to react to me «stopping, or risk ending up in a role-reversal where he flies past me.”

Another trait of the F-35 emerges when in defensive situations. At high AOA the F-16 responds slow when moving the stick sideways to roll the plane. A bit like using the rudder on a large ship I think, not that I know what I'm talking about – I'm not a sailor. In the F-35 I can use the rudder-pedals to steer the nose sideways. At high AOA the F-35 still responds quick compared to the F-16. This gives me the opportunity to point the nose where I want and threaten my opponent. I can do this “pedalturning” impressively fast, even at low speeds. As a defensive capability I can neutralize a situation fast or even reverse the roles.
A negative in training one on one has been that the view out of the cockpit is not as good as on the F-16. The visibility in a F-16 is especially good, better than in any other fighter I've flown. I could turn all the way around in my seat and see the opposite wingtip. In the F-35 I can't do that because the seat blocks some of the view. This made me a bit frustrated after the first flights. I had to learn to move different. Now I move forward in the seat before I lean a bit sideways and turn my head to look back. That way I can look around the sides of the seat. In the F-35 you learn to work around the issue and it's not a real disadvantage once you know how to do it."

The rest can be found here:

http://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=27253&start=72

Thought it was interesting enough to post, and if it had been available in English it'd certainly qualify for this thread.
 
sferrin said:
Thought it was interesting enough to post, and if it had been available in English it'd certainly qualify for this thread.

Basically the same dogfight strategy as an F/A-18 or Flanker using high AoA for nose pointing. 1 vs 1 is rather different than many vs many.
 
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/f-35-stealth-fighter-prepares-the-unthinkable-war-china-or-15956
 
"Boeing Disputes Denmark’s F-35 Evaluation"
Lara Seligman, Defense News 6:11 p.m. EDT May 19, 2016

Source:
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/2016/05/19/boeing-disputes-denmarks-f-35-evaluation/84613000/

WASHINGTON — Boeing is challenging the Danish government’s recommendation that Denmark select Lockheed Martin’s F-35 for its next-generation fighter fleet, claiming that the Danes used flawed data to determine the cost of each plane.

Boeing Vice President Debbie Rub told a Danish parliamentary committee in a private hearing Thursday that the recommendation that Denmark buy 27 F-35s to replace its aging F-16 fighter fleet was based on “incomplete and possibly flawed data,” the company confirmed to Defense News. The news was first reported by Reuters.

In a detailed analysis of the type selection for Denmark’s new fighter, the Danish government pegged the overall procurement cost to buy 28 F-35s at $2.33 billion, or $83 million a piece. By contrast, it determined the number of Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornets they would need to complete the same mission over 30 years is 38 aircraft, and calculated the overall cost to buy those jets at $4.65 billion. This works out to a unit cost of about $122 million.

A Boeing official challenged the accuracy of this pricing information, saying that the Danes included the cost of some of the first five years of sustainment and training for the Super Hornet in calculating the upfront procurement cost, but did not do the same for the F-35.

It's also worth noting that the figures cited in the Danish analysis are significantly different from the Pentagon's own estimate for flyaway unit costs of both jets. According to the fiscal 2017 budget request, an Air Force F-35A costs about $99 million in FY17, and about $101.5 million in FY18. The same budget documents show the Super Hornet costs $77.8 million in FY17, and $78 million in FY18.

This cost and pricing information is “puzzling,” according to Boeing spokeswoman Caroline Hutcheson.

“Boeing met with the Danish Parliamentary Defense Committee today to share a number of concerns with the new fighter program recommendation released last week, specifically about puzzling cost and pricing information in the report,” Hutcheson said Thursday. “We hope parliament will examine these issues closely before making a final decision.”

Boeing also took issue with the Danes’ determination that Denmark would need to purchase 11 more Super Hornets than F-35s to complete the mission. The type selection analysis pegged the Super Hornet’s service life at 6,000 hours, while noting that the F-35 can fly to 8,000 hours. Boeing thinks the right figure for the Super Hornet is 9,500 hours, the company confirmed.

In addition, Boeing submitted cost information on both the two-seat Super Hornet and the one-seat version, but the single-seat jet was not included in the final evaluation, according to one company official. The F-35 is a single-seat aircraft.

Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia also expressed skepticism about the Danes’ pricing information for the Super Hornet. Boeing could have priced the Super Hornet for future years when the production line is dwindling, and asked for more overhead to cover the cost of keeping the line open — but that explanation is not likely, he said.

It’s also possible the decision was politically motivated, Aboulafia noted.

“I see every reason for Denmark to select the F-35 given what Russia is doing right now,” Aboulafia said.

The Danish defense ministry has committed to a public debate period of about two to four weeks before the final parliament decision, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
 
The F-35A has started tailhook testing at Edwards AFB

By David Cenciotti
Even the conventional variant of the Joint Strike Fighter must be prepared to use the tailhook to face directional control issues or braking failures.

Tailhook landings by land-based aircraft are used in emergency situations to arrest a plane experiencing a failure that could imply a braking malfunction.

That’s why almost all U.S. combat aircraft have a tailhook, including the U.S. Air Force’s new F-35A Joint Strike Fighter.

According to an Air Force release, the JSF Integrated Test Force have started the first set of tests for the F-35A’s tailhook at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Although F-35s have landed using a tailhook before, they did not catch the arresting wire at the speeds and weights being tested now.

Since the tailhooks on the land-based aircraft are used rarely, they are designed as a one-time use device, as opposed to the Navy tailhooks. For this reason the F-35C (the carrier variant used by the Navy) has a significantly more robust tailhook that can be used for several thousands deploy-engage-retract-stow cycles.

The initial testing saw the F-35A AF-04 from the 461st FLTS (Flight Test Squadron) reach 180 knots over the ground, deploy the hook to catch an arresting cable in place and safely come to a stop.

The procedure was filmed by high-speed cameras for later review while telemetry data was collected.

“In the big picture, the F-35A tailhook is designed to stop the jet in an emergency primarily,” said Maj. Corey Florendo, 461st Flight Test Squadron project test pilot. “We have to make sure the system works as designed and as specified. We’re out there to verify the performance of the system, up to and including the worst case conditions we can possibly envision.”

According to the U.S. Air Force AF-04 had several successful engagements with the tailhook and arresting cable, which will clear the path for additional tests coming up, including different set ups (for instance with the plane not in the center of the runway).

https://theaviationist.com/2016/05/20/the-f-35a-has-started-tailhook-testing-at-edwards-afb/
 

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Dutch F-35s Land in the Netherland

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2016/05/23/watch-two-dutch-f-35s-land-netherlands/84802616/
 
two and a half hours on youtube about the F-35s crossing the Atlantic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wACWvCTkb-g&feature=player_embedded
Lots of talking heads in the first hour, take-off at 1:09, touch down at 2:13.
 
9, 10, A Big Fat Hen

—John A. Tirpak

5/26/2016

​Negotiations between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin on Lots 9 and 10 of the F-35 program are still underway, but should be concluded “soon,” Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall reported. He told reporters Tuesday the two lots are being negotiated together and will be worth about $16 billion. The delay is in trying to get the “best value for the government,” he said. Program director Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan reiterated that the cost of the F-35 continues to drop, falling from $108 million a copy for the F-35A model in Lot 8 to about $85 million “in then-year dollars, with engine and with fee,” by 2019. Some of the “blueprint for affordability” improvements—company/government investments that have saved money by streamlining production with better processes or materials—are working, but a follow-on package won’t be launched until after Lots 9 and 10 are built, he said. After that, the government may fund the initiatives on its own dime if the payback over the 3,000-strong fleet warrants.
 
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-stealthy-f-35b-will-change-amphibious-warfare-forever-16375
 

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