F-35 Joint Strike Fighter News, Videos and pics Thread

[FORBIN]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

Good job forbin but I don't get your last sentence

What exactly does 40:30A mean? Is that 40 x F35A or 30 x F35A??

Then 12 B/C I assume is 12 x F35B/C then what's the president and congress part 34 and 38 can we be clear here ?

30 x F35A wanted originaly ( 2012 ) by USAF in more 12 others A and B.

Presidential request for FY 2015 : 34 : 26 A, 6 B and 2 C, Congress want 38 seems the 4 in more will be A, make sense for equiped 9 sqn's to Luke, Hill, and we will know soon the first AF base in a foreign country equiped.

 

[thunderchief]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

Fire Breaks Out on F-35 at Eglin Air Force Base, Pilot Safe

A Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was severely damaged — possibly destroyed — in a Monday morning fire on the runway at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., USNI News learned.

No injuries were reported and officials have begun an investigation into the incident, defense officials told USNI News on Monday.

“The aircraft was preparing to conduct a continuation training mission at the time of the incident, but aborted during takeoff at Eglin Air Force Base due to a fire in the back end of the aircraft,” according to a Monday statement provided to USNI News from the Air Force.
“Emergency responders extinguished the fire with foam.”

The aircraft was a F-35A — the Air Force variant of the fighter — assigned to the 33rd “Nomads” Fighter Wing. The wing is schoolhouse for all versions of the JSF and trains sailors, airmen and Marines.

“We have a robust and extensive training program in which every pilot and aircraft crew member is trained in order to respond quickly and correctly in the event emergencies occur,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Paul Haas, the 33rd Wing vice commander in the statement.
“In this case, the pilot followed the appropriate procedures which allowed for the safe abort of the mission, engine shutdown, and egress.”

The base had trained for a F-35 ground fire as recently as mid-May, according to a separate release from Eglin.

“We are aware of the event at Eglin AFB today involving an F-35A aircraft. The aircraft is in the very capable hands of the 33rd Fighter Wing,” a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman said in a statement to USNI News.
“Lockheed Martin informed the wing that we are available for assistance upon request.”

This is the first incident this severe for the JSF during the life of the tri-service program.

There are currently 104 Joint Strike Fighters in the U.S. inventory — split between U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps variants, according to information from Lockheed.

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[bd popeye]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

pointblank sez..

Anyone who spends a lot of time around aircraft will not be too troubled by this. Fleet-wide groundings for inspections isn't new; aircraft are grounded all of the time for various issues.

So very true. I don't know how many times in my Navy career aircraft were grounded for one reason or another. Usually the grounding lasted only a day until inspections were completed.

"Move along..nothing to see here."

 

[Bernard]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

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I was expecting more people to comment on this about it being a set back. Is this? Do they know why the fire started? And is the fleet grounded again?

 

[Pointblank]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

I was expecting more people to comment on this about it being a set back. Is this? Do they know why the fire started? And is the fleet grounded again?

This was an operational aircraft, not a testing and development airframe. No groundings so far.

Nothing yet as to the cause of the fire, but they are saying it was an one-off situation.

 

[Bernard]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

I was to busy at work today to search for more information till now. I think this has a bit more about damage and groundings.

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WASHINGTON: The fire that struck an Air Force F-35A as it took of from Eglin Air Force Base should have limited operational effect on the program if initial conclusions by program officials are accurate..

The Air Force has paused its aircrafts’ flights. The Navy did not. The Marines also “paused” and are expected to get back into the air tomorrow.

“USMC leadership elected to exercise one day of operational pause at F-35B site locations; we expect F-35B flight ops to resume tomorrow,” a program official said. Air Force leadership is evaluating the issue. Air Combat Command will decide for the production aircraft; Air Education Training Command will decide for training aircraft. We’ve pinged ACC and will update when we hear from them.

The incident is almost certain to be declared a Class A mishap as any damage to the stealth coating is sure to be larger than $2 million. The act of putting out the fire will almost certainly have damaged the plane’s stealthy skin. The program does not yet have an initial damage assessment.

 

[Air Force Brat]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

I was expecting more people to comment on this about it being a set back. Is this? Do they know why the fire started? And is the fleet grounded again?

It is a tremendous setback anytime you burn a 250 million dollar airplane, I know what they supposedly cost, but I am assuming this is an early block aircraft, although it is production coded apparently. It will be a massive class A incident, thankfully no loss of life, and the eyewitness is here to give a play by play, so that is all great, and as they say, airplanes can be replaced. (most of the time) So yes, it is a big deal, and more groundings may follow, but they apparently think they have a handle on it at this time........ so hang on to your donkeys fellas????? poor little ThunderHogge, we gonna miss her.

 

[Jeff Head]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

I was expecting more people to comment on this about it being a set back. Is this? Do they know why the fire started? And is the fleet grounded again?

If they thought it was something associated with the design of the aircraft...they would have grounded them. But they did not.

It must be pretty clear to them that it did not have anything to do with the basic design or maintenance of the aircraft.

Heck...some foreign object could have caused it. They will make a report.

Anytime you are dealing with aircraft, particularly jet aircraft, there is an inherent danger associated with it. Luckily, no life was lost here.

But it is a major incident and they will check it out thoroughly.

 

[Jura The idiot]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

On F-35B Retrofits:

Posted on InsideDefense.com: June 24, 2014

The Marine Corps will declare the F-35B operational before completing engine bulkhead modifications, according to the service's top officer.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos was updated last week on an engineering fix for the F-35B short-take-off-and-vertical-landing defective engine bulkhead, he told reporters after a June 24 event in Washington.

Last year, the F-35 joint program office began a root-cause analysis on the F-35B ground article used for durability testing in which cracks were found in the bulkhead. The bulkhead did not break until about 9,800 hours of use, Amos told reporters.

Air Force and Navy JSF variants employ bulkheads made of titanium, while the Marine Corps' version uses aluminum "to keep the weight down," Amos said.

The engine bulkhead retrofit modifications will be bundled with other modifications that must be made to jets in the fleet. "That gives us a little bit of breathing room; we've got four or five years before we have to go back and do that," Amos said.

The Marines will have more time because most of the jets in the F-35B fleet have only completed 1,000 flight hours and the cracks were found once the aircraft reached about 9,800 flight hours.

"Now it's a function of manufacturing [the fix], then installing it, then testing it," Amos said. "Once they're confident of that then they'll insert that new bulkhead in the assembly line."

Amos said the modified bulkhead would be worked into the F-35 production line in low-rate initial production lot 7 or 8.

 

[Jura The idiot]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

A moment ago I tried to find out if they had been grounded/resumed flying ... found this:

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EDIT
Found only now:

Posted on InsideDefense.com: June 27, 2014

The Marine Corps resumed F-35B flight operations on June 27 after a fire aboard an Air Force F-35A at a Florida training base led all three services that deploy the Joint Strike Fighter to temporarily suspend flights of the aircraft.

"The Marine Corps will resume F-35B flight operations today," Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Richard Ulsh wrote in a statement emailed to Inside the Navy. "We are continuing with our plans to deploy to the [United Kingdom] next month."

The fire was reported on board the Air Force variant on June 23 at Eglin Air Force Base, FL, leading the Air Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps to temporarily suspend all flights of the aircraft as a precaution.

"Safety of our personnel, community, and aircraft are our key concern in all flight test operations. Following the June 23 F-35A incident, some local operators opted to temporarily suspend F-35B and C operations as a precaution," the Navy said in a statement.

The services suspended flights at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, AZ, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD, and Edwards Air Force Base, CA, Ulsh said.

The "operational pause" was self-imposed, Ulsh emphasized. The incident will not impact the Marines' plan to reach initial operational capability by July 2015, he said.

The F-35Bs are scheduled to fly to the UK next month to participate in the Royal International Air Tattoo and the Farnborough International Airshow.

Air Force and Navy F-35 operations remain suspended, according to service officials. "The USN/USMC air worthiness authorities are awaiting initial assessment results from the investigating authorities to enable decision-making with regards to flight operations of F-35B and C," the Navy statement reads. "This initial assessment and subsequent decision by the air worthiness authorities will not compromise the safety/mishap investigation proceedings."

None of the services have commented on the potential severity of the damage to the aircraft.