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

That issue again ? or was it the F-22 ? some years ago was a risk of pilots injuring or even breaking their necks when ejecting from either the F-22 or F-35.
 
NMaude said:
There will no doubt be some red faces over at Martin-Baker.
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Reports are saing 90% of aircraft have been checked and cleared to fly now.
Looks like there may have been a failure of a cartridge from 1 batch and they were checking the records to pull them.
 
The report said that since the problem was first discovered, the US had tested 2,700 F-35 ejection seat cartridges and found three failures.
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There might be a confusion attributing all the inspections to F-35 (there isn't 2700 F-35 produced yet) but the stats are staggering: this is a minor problem.

www.timesofisrael.com

Israel to evaluate F-35 fighters as US grounds its fleet over faulty ejector seats

IDF says Air Force commander will make decision in coming days over fate of 5th generation stealth jets, but currently assesses risk as 'low'
www.timesofisrael.com www.timesofisrael.com
 
TomcatViP said:
There might be a confusion attributing all the inspections to F-35 (there isn't 2700 F-35 produced yet) but the stats are staggering: this is a minor problem.
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Think they've added on every type of aircraft potentially covered. Typhoon were grounded temporarily as well. German's cleared all theirs to fly within a day. Abundance of caution is the phrase that springs to mind...
 
timmymagic said:
TomcatViP said:
There might be a confusion attributing all the inspections to F-35 (there isn't 2700 F-35 produced yet) but the stats are staggering: this is a minor problem.
Click to expand...
Think they've added on every type of aircraft potentially covered. Typhoon were grounded temporarily as well. German's cleared all theirs to fly within a day. Abundance of caution is the phrase that springs to mind...
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AFAIK French combat aircraft have Martin Baker ejector seats since at least the Mirage III (reason prevailed, French atempts at ejector seats were pretty dismal). I didn't heard anything related to Rafales or Mirage 2000s, however.
 
@Archibald :
You're definitely not ready to be a member of those intrepid French Journalists with a very biased view on the F-35:
Défense : les F-35 cloués au sol à cause d'un gros problème de sécurité
[...]
L'US Air Force n'est pas la seule concernée par ces mesures : l'US Navy et le corps des Marines, qui opèrent également des F-35 et d'autres avions dotés du même système possiblement fautif, ont ordonné une vérification en urgence de la partie de leur flotte d'avions de combat équipée avec des sièges Martin-Baker. Pire encore, le problème ne se limite pas aux forces armées américaines. Les Eurofighters et Red Arrows britanniques sont également touchés par ces mesures
--------------//----------------------------------

Defense: the F-35s grounded because of a major security problem
[...]
The US Air Force is not the only one affected by these measures: the US Navy and the Marine Corps, which also operate F-35s and other aircraft with the same possibly faulty system, have ordered a verification in emergency of the part of their fleet of combat aircraft equipped with Martin-Baker seats. Worse still, the problem is not limited to the US armed forces. British Eurofighters and Red Arrows are also affected by these measures
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TomcatViP said:
@Archibald :
You're definitely not ready to be a member of those intrepid French Journalists with a very biased view on the F-35:
Defense: the F-35s grounded because of a major security problem
[...]
The US Air Force is not the only one affected by these measures: the US Navy and the Marine Corps, which also operate F-35s and other aircraft with the same possibly faulty system, have ordered a verification in emergency of the part of their fleet of combat aircraft equipped with Martin-Baker seats. Worse still, the problem is not limited to the US armed forces. British Eurofighters and Red Arrows are also affected by these measures
Click to expand...
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Since the Rafael uses Martin-Baker seats wouldn't this cartridge issue be effecting their seats too?
 
www.edwards.af.mil

461st Flight Test Squadron receives brand new F-35A

The newest F-35A, straight out of the factory, found its new home here at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Aug. 1.
www.edwards.af.mil

461st Flight Test Squadron receives brand new F-35A

Published Aug. 15, 2022
By Giancarlo Casem
412th Test Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --
The newest F-35A, straight out of the factory, found its new home here at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Aug. 1.

The aircraft, Air Force serial number 338, is the first of six F-35s the 461st Flight Test Squadron and F-35 Lightning II Integrated Test Force will receive in the next few years. The upgraded fleet will be used to test the Technical Refresh 3 and Block 4 configurations of the Air Force’s newest fighter that will create tactical and operational advantages over peer competitors.

“The 461st needs airplanes; our complex test missions require a 4-ship of instrumented test jets to fully evaluate F-35 warfighting systems,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Bearce, an Air Force Reservist with the 370th Flight Test Squadron currently flying for the 461st “Deadly Jesters.”

The 461 FLTS is the Department of Defense’s lead developmental flight test unit for sensors, weapons, and software on all three variants of the F-35. The team has been behind every previous test project that has fielded new capabilities to operational F-35 units around the world.

“The F-35 is modernizing from a Tech Refresh 2 configuration to a Tech Refresh 3 configuration. But we are still developing capabilities for both configurations for the next few years. Developmental testers need to evaluate those capabilities using 4-ship formations in each configuration, which drives an increase to our total fleet size,” Bearce explained.

The software and hardware upgrades are aimed at increases the Lightning II’s capabilities and survivability in contested combat environments.
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I'm not inclined to believe anything the KSA prints. Where exactly would the F-35s be staging out of, were that the case?
 
It's a fair point but Saudi would just have had to figure why tanker were flying around their borders to then meet, apparently, no-one over the Gulf.

You don't need futuristic AI to figure that out.
 
“We volunteered to give up our summer in Vermont to generate and fly sorties to defend NATO’s Eastern Flank,” McRae said. “It was a rewarding three months and our small wing had a big strategic impact.”
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www.airforcemag.com

Guard F-35 Unit Completes First Overseas Deployment to Europe | Air & Space Forces Magazine

The Vermont Air National Guard, the first Guard unit to fly the F-35 fighter, completed its first deployment to Europe this month.
www.airforcemag.com www.airforcemag.com

1661540969716.png

(For God Sake, someone send him a proper Canoe. Makes you wonder why no Naval officers were yet fired ;) ).
 
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TomcatViP said:
“We volunteered to give up our summer in Vermont to generate and fly sorties to defend NATO’s Eastern Flank,” McRae said. “It was a rewarding three months and our small wing had a big strategic impact.”
Click to expand...

www.airforcemag.com

Guard F-35 Unit Completes First Overseas Deployment to Europe | Air & Space Forces Magazine

The Vermont Air National Guard, the first Guard unit to fly the F-35 fighter, completed its first deployment to Europe this month.
www.airforcemag.com www.airforcemag.com

View attachment 683139

(For God Sake, someone send him a proper Canoe. Makes you wonder why no Naval officers were yet fired ;) ).
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Low-cost Littoral Combat Vessel (LCV), low-level manning, never autonomous. You can Salma Kayek but please don't cancel my LCV Canoe...Also not Sailor Proof.
 
^ reminds me of the metallic coating/skins that were common in 50s era aircraft.. aside from the geometric shapes
 
jeffb said:
The tiles are interesting. A lot of them around the nose almost look like stickers, something applied to the skin of the plane.
Most of them appear to be the same size too.
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If that were really the case it would provide some very interesting options, since it could be applied to almost anything from legacy aircraft and drones to cruise missiles.
 
Forest Green said:
jeffb said:
The tiles are interesting. A lot of them around the nose almost look like stickers, something applied to the skin of the plane.
Most of them appear to be the same size too.
Click to expand...
If that were really the case it would provide some very interesting options, since it could be applied to almost anything from legacy aircraft and drones to cruise missiles.
Click to expand...

Maybe. I was wondering if they might just be a way of protecting the underlying radar absorbing coating.

1661607381160.png
 

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