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

According to Rear Adm. Chris Engdahl, who commands the U.S. Navy’s Expeditionary Strike Group 7, the ability of the F-35B to integrate with the Royal Australian Air Force F-35A and other assets, such as Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft, during high-end air combat training “has just been spectacular.”

Echoing those sentiments, the commander of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Col. Michael Nakonieczny, called the F-35Bs “fantastic and versatile,” although the commanders declined to go into specifics about what missions the F-35Bs undertook or if they trained for expeditionary advanced base operations. Engdahl would only say on the topic that the Marines will exercise “every capability the Marine Corps team has” at Talisman Sabre.
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www.defensenews.com

See F-35B jets take off at sea for Australian exercise Talisman Sabre

The F-35Bs have not previously participated in the exercise Talisman Sabre, which is held once every two years.
www.defensenews.com www.defensenews.com
 
(Double posting here)
“We have migrated from, in 30 years, … 4,000 fighters to 2,000 fighters, from [an average of] eight years old to 28 years old. We’ve gone from a force very focused on peer engagement to one optimized for counterinsurgency.” A 28-year-old fleet is “not optimized” for the peer fight, he said.

In that context, the F-35 helps reduce the average age of the fleet; it’s designed for a peer war; and “I need every airframe, and aviator, and piece of equipment, and maintainer, and sustainer that I can get.”

“I haven’t met the person who walks around with a banner saying, ‘I’m trying to reduce the numbers.’ I have a lot of folks … trying to balance the budget … and risk, but I haven’t met anyone in the Pentagon who says, ‘I’m here to reduce the number of F-35s,’” [Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark D. Kelly] said.
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www.airforcemag.com

Kelly: First Low-Cost Attritables will be in Stealth Red Air Role | Air & Space Forces Magazine

The Air Force’s first application of low-cost attritable aircraft systems will likely be as stealthy adversaries for fifth-generation fighters.
www.airforcemag.com www.airforcemag.com
 
A new aggressor unit equipped with F-35s has been formed to give American pilots an edge over their adversaries by allowing them to train for 5th Generation threats:
www.thedrive.com

F-35s Have Flown Their First "Red Air" Missions As Dedicated Stealth Aggressors

The latest iteration of the Air Force's huge Red Flag aerial war games features highly-trained aggressor pilots playing the "bad guys” in F-35s.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
 
bobbymike said:
TomcatViP said:
This is notably in contradiction to what Gen Kelly recently declared here regarding the potential of F-35, as a dedicated aggressor.
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I’m sure any stealth on stealth would be highly classified it would be a extremely interesting seeing F-22/35s up against other F-22/35s.
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I'm surprised it hasn't already been done !
 
[...] BAE has managed to cut the cost per flying hour of its EW system on the Joint Strike Fighter by more than 50 percent, Jerry Wohletz, vice president of Electronic Combat Solutions, told a small group of reporters yesterday during the annual Navy League Sea Air Space show.

That reduction applies only to the cost of the AN/ASQ-239, not the “total” weapons system, he explained, but still “that’s a substantial savings passed on” to the F-35 Joint Program Office.
[...]
Further, the company over the last four years has bolstered the availability of the EW system to 85 percent — “a significant improvement,” said Betsy Warren, BAE’s director of sustainment for Electronic Combat Solutions.
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breakingdefense.com

BAE Cuts Operating Costs Of F-35 EW System By 50 Percent - Breaking Defense

BAE has been working to convince its own suppliers to enter into performance-based logistics to cut costs and increase availability of its EW system for the Joint Strike Fighter, said Betsy Warren, BAE's director of sustainment for Electronic Combat Solutions.
breakingdefense.com breakingdefense.com
 
kitnut617 said:
I'm surprised it hasn't already been done !
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TomcatViP said:
This is notably in contradiction to what Gen Kelly recently declared here regarding the potential of F-35, as a dedicated aggressor.
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Kelly was talking about fielding a large number of 5th gen aggressors. It's been public knowledge that handfuls of F-35s and F-22s have operated on REDFOR during training exercises, but this has always been just jets from Hill AFB, etc spending a few days or maybe a week away from being on BLUFOR. The new dedicated aggressor F-35s in the 64th AGRS are permanently dedicated to emulating J-20s, etc, but even then the 64th AGRS is not a fully F-35 squadron; rather something like half the squadron is flying F-16s, and likewise every other dedicated aggressor squadron across the armed services is only operating 4th gen or earlier jets. Replacing (eg) 50%+ of those with 5th jets is cost prohibitive, hence the talk of using stealthy drones as surrogate REDFOR 5th gens.
 
“They do feel that they have some ways to reduce costs significantly that they’re still exploring. So, that’s encouraging.”

The F-35 still is a “dramatically improved capability” over fourth-generation aircraft, Kendall said. The jet represents a “game-changing tactical air warfare capability. And it is expensive, compared to much earlier systems, which are much simpler and less capable.”

As the fleet expands, the Air Force and other stakeholders need to drive the costs down, he said. Some “real opportunities” include replacing the much-maligned Autonomic Logistics Information System with the Operational Data Integrated Network.

“We can hopefully reduce some manpower through that. We can reduce the cycle times for maintenance and get some savings there as well,” Kendall said.

He added: “There are also some technologies that could go into future upgrades that could reduce some of the operational costs, such as fuel, significantly, but we’re not ready to commit to those at this point.” He nodded when asked if he was referring to a “next-generation engine.”
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www.airforcemag.com

Kendall: Current F-35 Block 4 Issues Reminiscent of Earlier JSF Problems | Air & Space Forces Magazine

New Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has had issues with F-35 production before and sees similar issues popping up with a recent technological refresh.
www.airforcemag.com www.airforcemag.com
 
Red tails get ready for F-35:
Preparations are underway at Dannelly Field in Montgomery as the 187th Fighter Wing awaits the arrival of 20 prestigious F-35 aircrafts.

It became official in April of last year that Dannelly Field would become home base to the F-35A Lightning II. The fighter jet is considered to be the most advanced in the world today.

“It can see things and do things that other aircraft cannot, and again, it’s a game-changer for us,” said 187th Fighter Wing commander Col. Douglas DeMaio.

The 187th Fighter Wing is just one of two bases in the country to be selected as an Air National Guard F-35A Lightening II location. Also selected as a location for the jets was Truax Field in Wisconsin.
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www.wsfa.com

Dannelly Field preparing for arrival of F-35 fighter jets in 2023

The fighter jets are not expected to begin arriving in Montgomery until December 2023, but preparations are already underway at Dannelly Field.
www.wsfa.com www.wsfa.com
 
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Given that the latest engine issue is a direct result of the pressure on cost, effectively that won't help.

Like it is said in the linked article above:

Unfortunately, there's been an over-focus on cost as opposed to the real measure of merit, and that's value – value in the context of cost-effectiveness," he said.

"A handful of F-35s can accomplish the same mission objectives, or desired effects, as it might take 12, 15, 20, 25 or more other aircraft.

"It's already participated in combat in Afghanistan, with both the United States Marine Corps as well as the United States Air Force [and Israel used it with brio in some of the most contested airspace today on the planet].

"The proof is really in the pudding when it comes to performance, and that is not listening to what some budget analyst in Washington [has to say] … but the man or woman who's been piloting the F-35.
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Something we have been saying here for long also.
 
"A handful of F-35s can accomplish the same mission objectives, or desired effects, as it might take 12, 15, 20, 25 or more other aircraft."

This argument may cut both ways. Sure keeping on buying the F-35 is the better alternative, but if its so effective, why need a 1-1 replacement with legacy fleet.
 

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