F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

[Kirkhill]

Now THAT sounds like an Ooops  :-[

Mayhap the Marines are going to win out after all and convert the Navy to VTOL  >.  Cunning people these Devil Dogs.

 

[Haletown]

Now THAT sounds like an Ooops  :-[

Or the usual suspects are twisting & torquing a story on a subject they know little about . . . because that's what the do to attract eyeballs.

interesting thread on the F-35 tailhook and tailhooking in general.

http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_viewtopic-t-16571.html

I think they'll get it all sorted out . . .  just another  day, another issue in an aircraft test program.

 

[CBH99]

How in the hell, after spending almost $400 BILLION dollars on the aircraft design/testing, does Lockheed Martin just now realize there is a crucial design failure?? 

Landing on carriers is nothing new, and hasn't been new for quite some time.  How in the heck can you spend over a decade designing, building, testing, and developing the "next generation" of fighter aircraft - yet overlook something so basic??

I know, I know...I'm not an aircraft designer.  And yes, on that account, I am out of my lane - as are most of us.  But seriously??  Really??

 

[Kirkhill]

Navy Times

Lockheed Martin has traced the Navy F-35C Joint Strike Fighter’s troubles with catching a carrier’s arresting gear wires to the tailhook design.

Efforts to fix the problem are well underway, a top company official said.

“The good news is that it’s fairly straight forward and isolated to the hook itself,” said Tom Burbage, Lockheed program manager for the F-35 program. “It doesn’t have secondary effects going into the rest of the airplane.”

Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at the Teal Group, Fairfax, Va., said the claim that the F-35C could never land on a ship was always highly dubious.

“They turned the YF-17 into a carrier plane, why couldn’t they correct carrier-hook problems here?” he said. “This does not appear to be a killer problem.”

Flight testing is designed to uncover and fix problems with a new aircraft, Aboulafia said.

 

[Loachman]

Much the same sorts of things appeared in the press during the F18 development and testing phase.

We were getting "lemons" that we would never need and the costs were exploding exponentially through the roof like skyrockets launched by overspending drunken sailors etcetera etcetera etcetera ad nauseum along with the usual assortment of tired cliches.

Many of the "latest show-stoppers" of the time had been identified and corrected a year or so before they were reported as such by idiotic journalist-experts.

 

[dapaterson]

Much the same sorts of things appeared in the press during the F18 development and testing phase.

And didn't the US Navy already have a Tailhook scandal?

 

[LordSnow]

Anybody know anything on the alternate engine design that we are looking at in order to make ours uniquely Canadian like we do to just about everything else?

 

[OldSolduer]

Anybody know anything on the alternate engine design that we are looking at in order to make ours uniquely Canadian like we do to just about everything else?

Good thing I didn't have anything in my mouth while I read this......

While I've refrained from commenting on this thread for a while as I am not an aeronautical engineer nor a pilot, he does have a point. We take something and mod the hell out of it til it barely resembles what we bought.

 

[cupper]

Good thing I didn't have anything in my mouth while I read this......

While I've refrained from commenting on this thread for a while as I am not an aeronautical engineer nor a pilot, he does have a point. We take something and mod the hell out of it til it barely resembles what we bought.

Like everything that came out of Bombardier during the 80's.

 

[cupper]

Anybody know anything on the alternate engine design that we are looking at in order to make ours uniquely Canadian like we do to just about everything else?

I know the US cancelled funding for a second engine for their program. John Boehner kinda got caught on that one since a majority of the work was going on in Ohio.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Fantino:  Lookit the Canadian benefits....

The Honourable Julian Fantino, Associate Minister of National Defence, today visited two British Columbia companies receiving additional work as a direct result of the Government of Canada’s decision to participate in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Minister Fantino helped mark important production milestones in the multinational development of new state-of-the-art F-35 stealth fighter fleets at Avcorp Industries Inc. in Delta and Advanced Integration Technology (AIT) in Aldergrove.

“Canada’s decision to participate in the Joint Strike Fighter Program is resulting in additional opportunities for Canadian workers that otherwise would not have existed – including right here in British Columbia,” said Minister Fantino. “I am pleased to join the skilled Canadian workers at AIT and Avcorp today whose world-class expertise is having a direct impact on supporting our country’s long tradition of contributing to international stability alongside our allies.”

In July 2010, Avcorp Industries Inc. announced a contract with BAE Systems Operations Ltd. to manufacture the outboard wings for the F-35 Carrier Variant that will now be shipped to Lockheed Martin’s assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas. Meanwhile, Advanced Integration Technology (AIT) Canada is responsible for producing the Electronic Mate and Assembly System (EMAS) that ensures the precise fusion of the wings and major parts of the plane’s body during the aircraft’s assembly. The positioners are being shipped to the production facility in Italy. AIT has delivered seven sets of positioners which are currently in use at Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Fort Worth, Texas ....

DND/CF Info-machine news release, 19 Jan 12

More in the Backgrounder:

.... Industrial Participation

Since 1997, Canada has been involved in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program’s phases of development, design and initial production. In 2006, the Government of Canada signed the Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development Phase Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). In this MOU, the partners agreed to implement a best-value approach to maximize industrial benefits and affordability of the JSF program for partner countries. Because Canada is a member country, Canadian companies are among those eligible to bid on the work packages that flow from this project. Canadian companies must continue to offer competitive technologies at competitive prices to be successful.

Industry Canada has signed proprietary industrial participation plans with the F-35 prime contractors (Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney). These industrial participation plans meet the Government of Canada’s objective of encouraging foreign industry to establish long-term relationships with Canadian industry. Industry Canada continues to work with industry and the
F-35 prime contractors to pursue opportunities related to the aircraft's production and sustainment.

In addition to providing access to competitive opportunities, the industrial participation plans identify strategic industrial opportunities for Canada that build on Canadian strengths in the areas of landing gear maintenance, composite manufacturing, hard metals machining and complex structure assembly.

Benefits to Canada

Canada has made payments of just over US$200 million to the F-35 JSF program; and, since 2002, this investment has led to approximately US$370 million in contracts with some 65 Canadian companies. This is nearly a two-to-one return on Canada’s investment to date.

This program provides Canada with an unprecedented opportunity for long-term and high‑quality work in the aerospace and defence sectors. Benefits include work opportunities from partner nation aircraft acquisitions worldwide, in addition to other non-partner countries that replace their aging fighter fleets. Canadian industrial participation in the F-35 JSF program is not limited to the work associated with the Canadian aircraft; Canadian companies will contribute to the manufacture and service of aircraft.

The work packages available for Canadian companies will include not only the manufacturing and assembly of parts, but also servicing, repair, simulation, and training, in addition to numerous other sustainment activities over the life of the aircraft. And there will be even more opportunities as the industrial benefits from the multinational F-35 JSF program continue to flow to Canadian companies throughout the operational lifespan of the worldwide fleet.

 

[WingsofFury]

Kelly says he also expects to begin testing a redesigned tailhook for the F-35C in the second half of the year. The current design encountered problems last year when officials attempted rolling tests and the tailhook skipped over the wire owing to its weight and a problem with the dampening system. CF-3 will be the first test aircraft to have the new tailhook installed.

After the initial ship trials with the F-35B last fall, the B model is not expected to go to sea until 2013, with the C model following in 2015, Kelly said.

Aircraft BF-4 is now operating the Block 1A software and BF-5 is using the 1B software package. Kelly said the Block 2 software, which will be used by the Marine Corps to declare operational capability, is not expected at Patuxent River until late this year.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/awx/2012/01/20/awx_01_20_2012_p0-416683.xml&headline=Panetta%20Lifts%20F-35B%20Probation&next=10

 

[The Bread Guy]

Fantino:  Happy to see the U.S. continue backing the STOL/VL version (F-35B), even if we're not buying that one....

The Honourable Julian Fantino, Canada’s Associate Minister of National Defence, welcomes United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s announcement that the United States is renewing support for the development of the F-35 Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (F-35B) variant.

“Yesterday’s announcement is welcome news for Canada and our allies’ participation in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter development program,” said Minister Fantino. "We are contributing to the development of a new, state-of-the-art aircraft that the Royal Canadian Air Force agrees gives them the best probability of success for many years to come."

While Canada is not purchasing this particular variant of F-35 aircraft, the Government of Canada's decision to participate in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program allows Canadian aerospace workers to benefit from additional work in development of all three variants ....

DND Info-machine, 21 Jan 12

More on Panetta taking the F-35B off hold, so to speak, this week here.

 

[The Bread Guy]

The federal government is reviewing Canada’s planned purchase of up to 65 F-35s after U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed Thursday his country will be slowing production on the troubled stealth fighters.

Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino said in a statement the government is still committed to the F-35 program, but that he had ordered defence department officials in Ottawa to investigate what implications the Pentagon’s decision would have on Canada.

“We continue to monitor the progress of the multinational joint strike fighter program closely and exercise responsible stewardship of taxpayers’ hard earned dollars,” Fantino said. “That is why I have instructed officials to review the implications of the United States’ announcement on Canadian Forces’ readiness so that they may be incorporated into preparations for the replacement of our aging CF-18 fleet.”

Panetta did not give any specifics about the delays as he addressed reporters in Washington, but previous reports had indicated the Pentagon would be putting off production on as many as 179 F-35s over the next five years, starting with 13 fewer in 2013.

“It’s a program that remains essential for the future of our superiority,” Panetta said. “But in this budget what we’ve done is slowed the procurement to allow for more testing and development.

“We want to make sure before we go into full production that we are ready.” ....

Postmedia News, 26 Jan 12

Remarks from Associate Minister Fantino (highlights mine):

The Honourable Julian Fantino, Canada's Associate Minister of National Defence, today made the following statement following United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's announcement to slow procurement of the United States' order of F-35 Lightning II in line with their plans to reduce government spending. This announcement does not affect the original number of aircraft being purchased by the United States."Today's announcement by the United States confirms their commitment to the F-35 project which will meet the fighter aircraft requirements of more than ten partner nations for the 21st century.

"Canada welcomes the United States' ongoing commitment to the multinational Joint Strike Fighter Program. This commitment by the United States is consistent with my discussions with Secretary Panetta at the Halifax International Security Forum last fall.

"This prudent measure by the United States is one that fully respects the strong partnership our allies have formed throughout our participation in this development program.

"We are pleased that less than eight percent of the United States' order will be re-profiled to a later production date, and that all partners continue to exercise responsible management of their priorities amid challenging global economic realities."Canada remains committed to the Joint Strike Fighter program and development of the new state-of-the-art aircraft that our brave men and women agree will give them the best probability of mission success well into the 21st century. We continue to monitor the progress of the multinational Joint Strike Fighter Program closely and exercise responsible stewardship of taxpayers' hard earned dollars.

"That is why I have instructed officials to review the implications of the United States' announcement on Canadian Forces' readiness so that they may be incorporated into preparations for the replacement of our aging CF-18 fleet.

"Information we have received indicates that the impact on Canada's procurement plans is minimal at this stage. As has been the case up to the present, we will continue to monitor developments closely.

"Our decision to participate in the multinational development of new state-of-the art aircraft for Canada and our allies is resulting in additional opportunities for Canadian workers that otherwise would not have existed. Canadian workers' world-class expertise is having a direct impact on supporting our country's long tradition of contributing to international stability alongside our allies."

 

[McG]

Conceivably, the impact of the US slowing its procurement rate could be forgein procurements slipping ahead of US purchases (ie. Canada and other international partners becoming able to receive their airframes earlier).

 

[LordSnow]

The reason they are slowing down procurement is not because of price tag of the plane itself. They will get just as many as they were originally planning to. This way they wont have to upgrade them. As you know there is already plans for new software and and hardware upgrades. This way when they roll out of the factory in 5 years they will be at the desired state instead of patching the development problems they are still having.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Associate Minister Fantino reminds the Liberals who got the F-35 train rolling in the first place - highlights mine....

Hon. John McKay (Scarborough—Guildwood, Lib.):  Mr. Speaker, India just held an open and transparent competition for its next generation of fighter jets. Here is what a country gets when it holds an open and transparent competition: one, it gets a state-of-the-art jet to meet its own mission needs; two, it gets the best possible jet at the best possible price; and three, it gets a huge boost to a brand new aerospace industry.  Why is the government so afraid of an open and transparent competition? 

Hon. Julian Fantino (Associate Minister of National Defence, CPC):  Mr. Speaker, there was a very significant competition. However, the rhetoric from the member opposite is irrefutable evidence of his party’s hypocrisy.  The Liberals initiated Canada’s involvement in the Joint Strike Fighter program in 1997 and in so doing committed $100 million to get it started. Now they have cold feet and want to turn their backs on our men and women in the military and abandon a tool that is critically necessary to the Canadian military.

Hansard (Commons), 31 Jan 12

 

[Kalatzi]

Parachute problem grounds some Lockheed F-35 jets

lin k here http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/us-lockheed-fighter-pentagon-idUSTRE80T1S120120130?ESRC=sm_deftech.nl

"It estimated that it would take about 10 days until the first set of repacked parachutes were available."  Initial cost estimates for the repacked chutes are $2. Billion each.  >

 

[Good2Golf]

...Initial cost estimates for the repacked chutes are $2. Billion each.  >

Really?  You're going to mess around with an otherwise objective post, and add you own flavour of misinformation masquerading as humour? 

Adding a smilie to an inane comment doesn't do anything to enhance others perception of your legitimacy...


Regards
G2G

 

[Rifleman62]

Where will our Canadian F-35 pilots get their transitional (or whatever the AF calls it) training?

We have recently moved for the Winter season and are now a couple of miles from Luke AFB which is in the mix for the F-35 training mission. Luke does F-16 now.