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

[Air Force Brat]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

Something puzzles me, F-35 have not yet finish development, and they are already mass producing them, and I assume those ones are only basic function ready, and not yet fully combat effective. I understand if they are producing them for the USAF, for training purposes.

But why are they producing it for other nations such as UK and Netherlands? What they going to do with the unfinished versions?

Also, I assume once the final testing is done in 2017-2019 they will retro fit all the ones that have been produced already, but how much will it cost them?

Lots, and Lots of Franklins, and Ben is not happy about that, just check the next 100 dollar bill and you will see him with a big frown, no, he is really ticked off about that, but BHO says we have to spend our way out of this recession. On a more serious note it is called concurrency and in practice it is one way to learn about how your aircraft will perform/hold-up, the B model has some serious cracking in an aluminum bulkhead designed to save weight over the titanium bulkhead it replaced, and their are other hotspots as they are called with wing ribs cracking etc, gear doors, lift fan door issues, but it really is a good way to evaluate your design before you get to far into it, and while you can make the many small changes called for, but yes it is expensive. It is also to give you capability as you bring the rest of your system up to spec, it takes time, and software changes, flight control systems, etc etc. do benefit from developement time!

 

[stardave]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

Lots, and Lots of Franklins, and Ben is not happy about that, just check the next 100 dollar bill and you will see him with a big frown, no, he is really ticked off about that, but BHO says we have to spend our way out of this recession. On a more serious note it is called concurrency and in practice it is one way to learn about how your aircraft will perform/hold-up, the B model has some serious cracking in an aluminum bulkhead designed to save weight over the titanium bulkhead it replaced, and their are other hotspots as they are called with wing ribs cracking etc, gear doors, lift fan door issues, but it really is a good way to evaluate your design before you get to far into it, and while you can make the many small changes called for, but yes it is expensive. It is also to give you capability as you bring the rest of your system up to spec, it takes time, and software changes, flight control systems, etc etc. do benefit from developement time!

So any information on just what can the "concurrent" F-35 being mass produced can do? Are they combat able at all? And what exactly what they be used on?

 

[Pointblank]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

So any information on just what can the "concurrent" F-35 being mass produced can do? Are they combat able at all? And what exactly what they be used on?

Testing, development, training, lots of stuff.

 

[Air Force Brat]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

So any information on just what can the "concurrent" F-35 being mass produced can do? Are they combat able at all? And what exactly what they be used on?

While they are likely quite capable, they are basically low rate production test aircraft, due to some of the issues I mentioned, the concurrency production has been slowed to a crawl to deal with those issues. Much like the F-22 the aircraft will be upgraded in "blocks" as software and hardware are upgraded. The early production aircraft of most nations will go to the schoolhouse at Eglin AFB in Florida for maintenance and flight training, under the watchfull eye of combat qualifed operators to school on maintenance and early issues with the aircraft, and you can bet there are layers and layers of safety mechanisms to "wade" into aircraft operations in a safe and orderly way. It is very unlikely that they would be used in any combat scenario at this stage because neither the aircraft nor operators are combat qualified, but rest assured, we have layers and layers of combat capable aircraft, and those 185 Raptors are still causing bad guys to lose sleep at night. So lay your head on your pillow and rest easy, the "good guys " are geared up and they are "ready to go"!

As to specifics, I am quite certain that would be classified, but I am also certain that several of our more up to date posters will inform of us some general lrp specs?

 

[navyreco]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

The F-35 decision: Disastrous implications for UK airpower

The May 2012 announcement by the Secretary of State for Defence that the variant of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (or Joint Combat Aircraft in UK parlance) to be acquired for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force was again being changed marks the third iteration in a decade-long process.

The decision to revert to the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant instead of the F-35C carrier variant, justified on the basis of the supposed cost of configuring the Queen Elizabeth-class (QEC) for catapult assisted take-off but arrested recovery operations (CATOBAR), has significant long-term implications for UK airpower.

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[Equation]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

The F-35 decision: Disastrous implications for UK airpower

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In my opinion the UK needs all three version of the F-35 series considering her world wide naval and military responsibilities and needs. There are just too many different needs for any single one plane to do the job that requires it.

 

[paintgun]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

^^ IMO should have stuck with the C and use more UAVs/UCAVs

 

[navyreco]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

‘It’s Easy,’ F-35B Pilots Say

Landing an F-35B vertically is more straightforward than it looks, and far easier than doing the same in an AV-8B Harrier, said Peter Wilson, a former U.K. military aviator who is now BAE Systems’ chief test pilot.

“It’s just like magic,” Wilson told the reporters who assembled at the Farnborough International Airshow to hear about the Joint Strike Fighter from a pilot’s point of view. “It’s so much easier, so much less workload.”

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[Air Force Brat]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

In my opinion the UK needs all three version of the F-35 series considering her world wide naval and military responsibilities and needs. There are just too many different needs for any single one plane to do the job that requires it.[/Q..UOTE]

Well of course the US will be operating all three versions, so I expect their to be a lot of my dogs bigger than your dog conversations among the various operators. The UK, well they have the Eurofighter Typhoon for their A2A ride with a lesser role as an Striker, and I'm sure that while there would be those who might long for all three, the majority will be quite happy that they have gone back to the B, as its so vedy,vedy British, ala Harrier XP or xtra special, kind of eclectic in its oddity. To not have a british naval lift jet would likely be seen as abandoning a uniquely British venture, as the Harrier is rather charming, much like a Tiger Moth or Chipmonk, although rather like keeping a Bengal Tiger as a housecat, the B promises more and better of the same in a much more user friendly, and I would imagine that we will soon see one of the Royal lads parking her on the premises of Buckingham, prolly that lad William, dropping in for tea with grandmum! Park it in there with the Royal carriage lads, and do mind the paint please, it is rather pricey you know. Cheers Brat

But to be honest paint, I really do like the C, if the A had the C wing, now I'm getting a headache, Oh well, ya gotta love this bird, she needs lots of TLC, I bet she pleasantly surprises a lot of us!

 

[navyreco]

re: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Thread

Navy admiral hints at jettisoning F-35 fighter
Questions value of stealth technology

The chief of naval operations has penned an opinion column that has military analysts buzzing over whether it signals the Navy may be the first military branch to jettison the costly F-35 stealth fighter jet.

Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert’s column in the current issue of Proceedings magazine questions the value of radar-evading technology, or stealth, in flying to a target and bombing it in a world of rapidly improving radars.

At the same time, the Navy’s top officer champions the future of unmanned planes and standoff weapons such as ship-fired cruise missiles. Adm. Greenert also mentions the ongoing budget-cutting environment in Washington.

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