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

[FORBIN]

And now bad news for Boeing to continue with these back and forth damn haha

Navy F-35C Unit Price on Track for $100 Million by 2020

The unit price of the Navy’s F-35C Lightning II carrier-based strike fighter is estimated to be $121.8 million for the Lot 10 of the aircraft’s production and headed lower as cost-reduction initiatives take hold and production ramps up.

“The F-35 unit price is on track for $100 million in 2020,” Jack Crisler, Lockheed Martin’s director of F-35 Strategy and Business Development, told reporters at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition.

By comparison, the Air Force F-35A unit price for Lot 10 is $94.6 million. The F-35 program has a goal of reducing the price of an F-35A to $85 million by 2019. The Air Force is trying to push the price down further to $80 million by 2020.

The F-35C is more expensive than the F-35A because of its larger wing and carrier launch and recovery features, but also because of its current low-rate of production compared with the F-35A. The F-35A comprises 85 percent of the Lightning II’s program of record of 3,170 aircraft of all versions.

Lockheed Martin has delivered 27 F-35Cs to date. Four are included on Lots Nine and 10 production. In January, the Navy reactivated Strike Fighter Squadron 125 to be the service’s second fleet replacement training squadron for the F-35C. More carrier qualification trials are scheduled for the third quarter of the year.

The Navy plans to be ready to begin pilot training in January and to begin to convert the first fleet squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron 147, in March 2018. Initial operational capability is set for 2018 or 2019

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[FORBIN]

Interesting conversation gentlemen, but the pod is in very early development as well, and is billed as a complementary system to already outstanding radar onboard as the primary targeting system. The f-35 is flying with the Mk-1 EOTAS which is still very good, but not as capable as the pod will be? The F-35's MK-2 will be far superior to either!

He get ready tets completed, very small surely not a problem for agility, speed without FTs ofc.

Lockheed Martin’s Legion Pod Completes First F-15C Flight Test

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[Air Force Brat]

He get ready tets completed, very small surely not a problem for agility, speed without FTs ofc.

Lockheed Martin’s Legion Pod Completes First F-15C Flight Test

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The 1st Flight Test, and we are already talking of its "glowing success", maybe a little early to proclaim it total superiority to the F-35 isn't it??

 

[Jeff Head]

The 1st Flight Test, and we are already talking of its "glowing success", maybe a little early to proclaim it total superiority to the F-35 isn't it??

Not only early...but completely out of sync with reality/.

Upgrading the F-15s like they are proposing for the F-18s is a GOOD thing. It will help keep them very proficient and deadly.

But it will not make them fifth gen stealth aircraft.

The f-35, alogn with the F-22s are going to keep the US Air Force...and with Charlie and Bravo for the 35s, the US Navy and the US Marines, ahead of all competition for decades to come.

 

[Air Force Brat]

Not only early...but completely out of sync with reality/.

Upgrading the F-15s like they are proposing for the F-18s is a GOOD thing. It will help keep them very proficient and deadly.

But it will not make them fifth gen stealth aircraft.

The f-35, alogn with the F-22s are going to keep the US Air Force...and with Charlie and Bravo for the 35s, the US Navy and the US Marines, ahead of all competition for decades to come.

Amen to that, and once the F-35 costs fall below 100 million, for a 20 to 1 advantage, isn't that really a "no brainer"? A new airframe, that will "grow up" and become an even more effective platform in the future with some relatively simple to install "soft ware upgrades?"

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

Well there is some hardware to the Advanced EOTS and addition of missile rails for a third Ait to Air missile in the bays as well as swapping the helmets.

 

[Jeff Head]

And now bad news for Boeing to continue with these back and forth damn haha

Navy F-35C Unit Price on Track for $100 Million by 2020

The unit price of the Navy’s F-35C Lightning II carrier-based strike fighter is estimated to be $121.8 million for the Lot 10 of the aircraft’s production and headed lower as cost-reduction initiatives take hold and production ramps up.

“The F-35 unit price is on track for $100 million in 2020,” Jack Crisler, Lockheed Martin’s director of F-35 Strategy and Business Development, told reporters at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition.

By comparison, the Air Force F-35A unit price for Lot 10 is $94.6 million. The F-35 program has a goal of reducing the price of an F-35A to $85 million by 2019. The Air Force is trying to push the price down further to $80 million by 2020.

The F-35C is more expensive than the F-35A because of its larger wing and carrier launch and recovery features, but also because of its current low-rate of production compared with the F-35A. The F-35A comprises 85 percent of the Lightning II’s program of record of 3,170 aircraft of all versions.

Lockheed Martin has delivered 27 F-35Cs to date. Four are included on Lots Nine and 10 production. In January, the Navy reactivated Strike Fighter Squadron 125 to be the service’s second fleet replacement training squadron for the F-35C. More carrier qualification trials are scheduled for the third quarter of the year.

The Navy plans to be ready to begin pilot training in January and to begin to convert the first fleet squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron 147, in March 2018. Initial operational capability is set for 2018 or 2019

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Just as we have been predicting...and the beat goes on!

 

[FORBIN]

AARGM-ER, for internal carriage on F-35A-C

No datas for ER seems simlar to AGM-88E AARGM

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Do 4.17 m x 0.25 m

F-35B can't host this missile in weapons bays as 2000 lbs bombs they are too long max possible 3.85 m same problem for AGM-154/block 3F ( 4.1 m ) and later AGM-158 for Block 4

A and C can host internaly AGM-154 but not AGM-158 ( 4.27 m ) possible max 4.2 m.

 

[Air Force Brat]

No datas for ER seems simlar to AGM-88E AARGM

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Do 4.17 m x 0.25 m

F-35B can't host this missile in weapons bays as 2000 lbs bombs they are too long max possible 3.85 m same problem for AGM-154/block 3F ( 4.1 m ) and later AGM-158 for Block 4

A and C can host internaly AGM-154 but not AGM-158 ( 4.27 m ) possible max 4.2 m.

View attachment 37693

View attachment 37694

Now that is a properly "manly" looking missile! ssshhhhhoooooooossssssshhhhhhh, BOOM!

 

[Jura The idiot]

expectedly Pentagon seeks at least 5 percent savings on Lockheed F-35 jet, say sources

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin could shave at least 5 percent off the price of stealthy F-35 fighter jets in their upcoming annual purchase contract as the standard version of the plane heads toward a price of fewer than $80 million, people familiar with the talks told Reuters.

The Pentagon, under the direction of U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, has been exploring how to cut the costs of its most expensive weapons program.

The deal for last year's annual purchase contract, struck this February, put the standard takeoff and landing version of the jet at the lowest price ever, $94.6 million, a 7.3 percent reduction from the previous annual purchase price of $102 million.

The current negotiations are for a batch of about 130 planes. The talks could shave 5 to 7 percent, or $660 million, from the approximately 100 standard takeoff and landing A-model jets for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. allies, the sources said.

The F-35 comes in three configurations: the A-model; the B-model, which can handle short-takeoff-and-vertical-landings for the U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Navy; and the carrier-variant F-35C jets.

The number and type of jets in the deal as well as the timing for an agreement have not been finalized, the sources said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

The Pentagon's F-35 Joint Program Office said it remains focused on getting the best deal for the planes and for taxpayers, but would not comment on the negotiations. A Lockheed Martin representative declined to comment.

U.S. President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials have criticized the F-35 program for delays and cost overruns, but the price per jet has steadily declined in recent years as production increases.

Speaking at a conference last month, Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, head of the F-35 program for the Pentagon, said the government hoped that by 2020 the F-35 would cost less than $80 million, a 16 percent drop from its current price.

Lockheed, the prime contractor for the jet, and its partners including Northrop Grumman, BAE Sytems, and United Technologies' Pratt & Whitney, have been working to lower costs by building a more cost-effective supply chain for the production line in Fort Worth, Texas.

source is DefenseNews

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