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

The latest DOT&E 2022 report mentioned F-35s going up against Radar Signal Emulator (RSE). The Air Force began deploying this system around 2018, I noticed a post from Eielson AFB a year ago that discussed their new system named "YETI" which resembled RSE for the JPARC:


The state-of-the-art emitter, nicknamed “YETI,” enhances the 354th Fighter Wing’s ability to train and integrate advanced operations for Alaska-based units, the joint force and international allies and partners by training pilots and aircrews to detect and destroy SAMs.

“The YETI is an exciting addition to our range’s capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Eric Ringelstetter, 354th Range Squadron director of operations. “Its ability to represent relevant SAM radars on the ground will allow us to facilitate more modernized, advanced training to those who use the range from across the area of responsibility. The investment helps ensure the JPARC remains relevant into the future and that our units are getting training at the level they really need.”
 

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Just a cool photo: Norwegian F-35 Lightning II parks on the flight line during training to the Air Dominance Center located at the Savannah Air National Base, Georgia

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F-135 engine issue tracked down to harmonic resonance (vibration issue). Corrective fix available at the end of the month:

“After thorough review, we can confidently say there were no quality issues with the [engine] fuel tube that fractured,” said Jen Latka, vice president of the F135 program for Pratt & Whitney. “We are dealing with a rare systems phenomenon involving harmonic resonance.
[...]
Pratt & Whitney confirmed in a statement to Defense News the development of a near-term solution meant to allow the company to resume delivering F135 engines to F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin by the end of this month.
Click to expand...

www.defensenews.com

Fix coming for F-35 engine problem that froze fighters’ deliveries

Time is running out to fix the problem and keep F-35 production going, according to Rep. Rob Wittman.
www.defensenews.com www.defensenews.com
 
Deltafan said:
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Here’s an article that summarizes this report on the F-35’s low availability and flight hours (the F-35C seems to be doing OK, but not the A and B models):

breakingdefense.com

F-35 readiness and flight hours fell in 2022, says CBO - Breaking Defense

F-35s are flying fewer hours and achieving lower readiness rates than earlier fighters did at comparable points in their service lives. In fact, the F-35A and F-35B variants are doing worse than they did in prior years.
breakingdefense.com breakingdefense.com

Screenshot-2023-02-14-at-15-34-02-Availability-and-Use-of-F-35-Fighter-Aircraft-An-Update-58902-F35.pdf-1024x583.png


Screenshot-2023-02-14-at-15-32-35-Availability-and-Use-of-F-35-Fighter-Aircraft-An-Update-58902-F35.pdf-1024x622.png
 
i am surprised how close the A and B are in 2022, and the huge gap with the C
any reasons why? the article didnt really explain too much about that, besides the smaller sample size for the B and C
 
Josh_TN said:
TomcatViP said:
As a reminder:

world-map-with-north-pole-pdf.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm aware of the proximity. But at the same time, I don't think the Russians are going to start landing troops in Canada. The US would defend the Northwest Passage even if Canada didn't, and in fact both countries have a disagreement about how much of that counts as "international waters". Never the less, I certainly welcome the Canadian buy of F-35's; honestly I think it is more plane for the money than you can get from anyone else.
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I wonder if you're still thinking along these lines now that the Chinese are slow-rolling balloons through Canadian airspace?
 
helmutkohl said:
i am surprised how close the A and B are in 2022, and the huge gap with the C
any reasons why?
Click to expand...
Best I can tell it comes down to 3 things:

1) USN has a much younger fleet mix. F-35 availability decreases over time, so having lots of 1-2 year old F-35Cs is better than 3-5 year old F-35As.

2) On top of that, the USN chooses to fly the pants off its brand new F-35Cs in their first year. From then on flying hours are similar for 2-3 years to F-35As. Once F-35Cs hit 5-6 years however they continue flying whereas F-35As fly less and less… probably because the USN has fewer aircraft available so has to keep older F-35Cs flying. Whereas the USAF can afford to “park” its older F-35As while waiting for upgrades. (Or perhaps the USAF has a maintenance backlog of older F-35As that it is unable to correct)

3) USN availability isn’t better once you adjust for age. In fact F-35C full mission availability is much lower than the F-35A. That suggests that the USN is deprioritizing maintenance/combat readiness to get its F-35Cs flying even if they have defects.

As for the F-35B, it’s availability and flight hours are consistently ~10% lower than the F-35A, which seems to confirm that there is a real maintenance penalty for the STOVL variant.

All in all, the comparisons to legacy fleets (F-15E, F/A-18E, AV-8B) are scary…
 
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H_K said:
All in all, the comparisons to legacy fleets (F-15E, F/A-18E, AV-8B) are scary…
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Then again the legacy fleet been doing this for longer then most of us been alive. Everyone and their mothers knows how they works and basically every craft individual quirks have been documented.

So I wonder how they were in their first five years?

My gut says not much better cause I remember reading how the F16 fly by wire system gave the mechanics uclers due to not being used to the systems causing alot of groundings over simple shit...

Bring a new craft fully online is hard.
 
Firefinder said:
So I wonder how they were in their first five years?

My gut says
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Read the CBO report. It’s all there. Shows that the first 5 years of F-15E and F/A-18E were much better.
 

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Jeb said:
Josh_TN said:
TomcatViP said:
As a reminder:

world-map-with-north-pole-pdf.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm aware of the proximity. But at the same time, I don't think the Russians are going to start landing troops in Canada. The US would defend the Northwest Passage even if Canada didn't, and in fact both countries have a disagreement about how much of that counts as "international waters". Never the less, I certainly welcome the Canadian buy of F-35's; honestly I think it is more plane for the money than you can get from anyone else.
Click to expand...
I wonder if you're still thinking along these lines now that the Chinese are slow-rolling balloons through Canadian airspace?
Click to expand...

Yes I am, because those balloons aren’t going to learn anything of strategic value if they aren’t over the US border and one hardly needs F-35s for balloons. But again I’m glad canucks finally settled on some F-35s.
 
TomcatViP said:

Singapore to acquire eight additional F-35Bs

The Singapore government is exercising the option to acquire eight more short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL)-capable F-35B fighter aircraft, in addition to the...
www.janes.com
Click to expand...
www.channelnewsasia.com

Singapore to acquire 8 more F-35B fighter jets, growing fleet to 12

The Singapore Armed Forces will also upgrade its training with virtual reality technology and a new digital range, as part of its 2040 vision.
www.channelnewsasia.com www.channelnewsasia.com
 
www.businesswire.com

From build to beyond: Parker Aerospace and DUST Identity launch Lockheed Martin F-35 into digital space

Weaving together digital engineering and technology, Parker Aerospace today announced collaboration with Lockheed Martin and DUST Identity. The allian
www.businesswire.com

By integrating unclonable tiny diamond tags into targeted aircraft components, a seamless method is established for identifying, tracking, predicting, and maintaining these parts, which ultimately leads to significant improvements in flight safety and availability of the aircraft.
 

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Pilot error (low power approach) resulted in ramp strike:

news.usni.org

Pilot Error Caused South China Sea F-35C Crash, Investigation Says - USNI News

This post has been modified to clarify the recommendations from the investigators. A 2022 ramp strike aboard the carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) that injured six sailors and resulted in the loss of an F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter was due to a mistake by the fighter pilot during...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
 

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