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

[Jeff Head]

Guys, the F-35s, old and new, will be used appropriately by the US military.

Some will be used to train.

Some will be used for ongoing tests.

And yes, some can and will probably used as aggressors.

The program is coming forward, and the US is going to build a lot of these aircraft and the price is steadily coming down.

Lockheed is doing what it said it would do, and our hat should be off to them.

But there are so many people, particularly ion the last admin, that simply want to hate and malign the program no matter what.

I have seen this my whole life on programs as far back as the F-8 crusader, the YF-12A, which became the SR-71, and on all sorts of various naval ships and US armored projects and helicopters.

The tactic remains the same old play. Do everything in their power to drag the program out and drive costs up. The g=either get the whole thing cancelled, or a big enough part of it canceled so they can complain about the tremendously high "cost.'


never mind that they caused the high costs. Never mind that when you bring technology forward it is expensive and needs to be spread out over large numbers to make it as inexpensive as possible.

But when you cut a planned by of 1500 back to 187, or something like that, then the cost goes way up and they then use that as ammo to malign the whole thing.

The same is happening today...but they are failing on the f-35s.

we need it too badly, our allies need it too badly, and the numbers are going to remain in the several thousands of aircraft so Lockheed can indeed meet (and is doing so) the price goals.

And the aircraft is also meeting the testing schedules and the capability curves.

They are doing this in part because of the concurrent testing. Concurrent testing leads to what we are seeing in having some aircraft back at earlier test levels...but allowing us to move forward more quickly.

in the end...as I have said for years...the program is going to be the most productive, most capable, and most wide spread 5th generation stealth strike aircraft on the planet...bar none.

No amount of nay-saying, maligning, or nastiness is going to change that. it's too late because it is already happening.

But that will not stop them from taking shots at, complaining about, and continuing to do their best to make the program look bad, even as it becomes obvious that it is looking better and better.

 

[FORBIN]

Yes it is not a problem if 100 on 1763 ! don't have full capacities
The block 2B allow only these weapons : AIM-120, GBU-32 JDAM, GPS, 454 kg, GBU-12 JDAM, LGB, 227 kg, Mk-80 series free fall 227/907 kg
Can be on internals HPs sure for externals ofc no problem for Mk-80 series others maybe need modifs ?

 

[FORBIN]

Air Force Brat so after J-20 they are idiots really ! ... good articles there

F-22 also appear seems have a small IR signature to detect with IRST to SC with very good "customized" nozzles in more esthetic.

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[Jura The idiot]

the-glass-half-empty-or-half-full type of article
Israeli lawmakers: F-35 get is fine, but must ‘meticulously assess’ follow-on buys
12 hours ago

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Parliamentary findings released Monday on long-term planning within the Israeli military validated the nation’s need for 50 F-35 Adir fighter jets, yet urged a comprehensive review of alternatives — including drones and “other sources of precision fire” — before a government decision to purchase another 25 to 50 aircraft, as requested by the Israeli Air Force.


“The Adir is not just another platform, but brings new capabilities to the battlefield due to its stealth,” members of a parliamentary subcommittee found following a two-year review of the Israel Defense Forces‘ multiyear organization and spending plan.

In a section devoted to the Air Force, lawmakers noted that the F-35, “with all the existing limitations and against anti-aircraft missiles projected in the future, returns the Israel Air Force, through proper planning and with the recognition of its vulnerability points, to a capability for ‘stand-in’ operations.”

While lawmakers endorsed the government’s recent actions to acquire another 17 aircraft and thereby ensure two full stealth squadrons for the Air Force, they insisted follow-on purchases must be assessed in terms of how they contribute to national defense policy relative to alternatives.

Israel finalized last month an agreement with the U.S. government and F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin for another 17 planes. It was the third tranche of F-35 contracts, following an order for 19 aircraft in 2010 and another 14 F-35s in 2015.

“This does not detract from the vast professionalism of the Israel Air Force, but we cannot ignore the need to meticulously assess the face of the future, especially with regard to air combat platforms, which are so expensive, critical and [subject to] rapidly changing technologies,” subcommittee authors wrote.

Lawmakers said they intended to exercise their oversight role through a series of hearings on air-power alternatives aimed at influencing the IDF’s next five-year plan following the current plan, “Gideon,” which ends in 2020.

“The Committee will assess in depth ... the issue of Israeli rocket capabilities, and the potential for realistic and significant alternatives to the aerial option. The committee reasons that despite the proven capability of the Israel Air Force, it must seriously assess alternatives given future challenges and threats to the Air Force‘s ability to operate in any theater and under any conditions.”

Findings on the F-35 were just a small part of a special report published Sept. 25 by the subcommittee, which falls under the purview of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The subcommittee is charged with oversight of defense policy and force structure.

The 30-page report, only published in Hebrew, is a product of dozens of hearings, on-site inspections and meetings over a two-year period. It repeatedly faults the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for leadership deficiencies and failure to codify a clear defense policy and national security goals as guidelines for long-term military planning.

“The IDF‘s multiyear plan is designed almost entirely from ‘the bottom up‘ ... through staff work of the military itself without a national defense policy approved and known to the government of Israel and without an operational concept that was drafted and approved by the political level to guide IDF actions,” lawmakers wrote.

“An army that plans for itself has a tendency to focus on projects and technologies, and not on balancing them against a clear policy of what they are supposed to achieve and how. This is the responsibility of the political echelon.“

The report insists that the entire process of IDF long-term planning must be reversed, whereby political leaders provide guidance for each multiyear plan while regularly monitoring and assessing its implementation. “Guidance must come from the political level with implementation, the responsibility of the IDF staff with oversight and deep involvement of the National Security Council,” the authors wrote.

It also took the government to task for failure to set wartime goals for the IDF and to determine the desired outcome or exit strategy for each theater. Furthermore, lawmakers faulted the government for over-reliance on military force, which they insisted is just one part of a holistic approach that must involve diplomacy, economic and legal measures, covert activities, and other forms of “soft power.”

In one of the only direct criticisms of the IDF, lawmakers urged a new “economy of war” thinking on the part of military planners during targeting operations. It noted that in most of Israels recent wars or large-scale operations, the sheer number of targets struck had little to do with strategic achievements.

“A lesson from recent operations is to ... correct basic failures of planning and implementation that stem from [focus on] the number of targets rather than the quality of targets,” they noted. “The IDF must base its attack plan, in terms of fire and maneuver, on the effectiveness in achieving needed results, and to stay away from easy solutions ... that do not contribute to these aims.”

 

[FORBIN]

A Knight on so close to Rocket Man

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[Air Force Brat]

It's a numbers game. refit the ones with the most life to give to the new standards. Keep the oldest for tests. but not necessarily Aggressors.Thing is that as we transition to the F35 standard we need to break up what we are training against. This is why I like the Commercial Red Air even though they are using old machines like Kfirs, L39's, Mirage F1 and the like. it's not just the intercept it's the difference in machines.

NO! we don't need to fly against last centuries has been second hand demilitarized threats from other countries..... he have enough of those in our own bone-yards. and don't think civilian operation of those "Red Air" teams is gonna save a bunch of JACK, cause it won't!

in fact an operation that I am familiar with had a serious accident, and may be "OUT", its dangerous, every day dangerous.

 

[Air Force Brat]

the-glass-half-empty-or-half-full type of article
Israeli lawmakers: F-35 get is fine, but must ‘meticulously assess’ follow-on buys
12 hours ago

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The "Pharisees" preaching to the "Messiah",, that's exactly what it is. God, and the IDF have protected Israel against all comers,,, with the smart ass?? (didn't the Ass talk to Balaak?) politicians insatiable thirst for power and money! (they're the SAMO, SAMO everywhere),,, they're "oversight" of the amazing Israeli military would be like the conquest of the US Military by Barack Hussein Obama and Hillary Rodem Clinton,,, or John Scary Kerry! and that friend is scary, a bunch of political hacks chopping up the defense plan, male and female, who together couldn't possibly pull their own head, out of their own ass long enough to look around and give an honest assessment and solution to boiling water??

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

NO! we don't need to fly against last centuries has been second hand demilitarized threats from other countries..... he have enough of those in our own bone-yards. and don't think civilian operation of those "Red Air" teams is gonna save a bunch of JACK, cause it won't!

in fact an operation that I am familiar with had a serious accident, and may be "OUT", its dangerous, every day dangerous.

Brat it doesn't matter if it's a brand new T50 Trainer, Grippen Aggressor or a F16C+. The point of dissimilar air combat training is to have the pilots face a dissimilar threat. As the F35A moves to be the norm for the USAF that means Flying F35A as the main force. Matching F35A vs F35A is a unlikely event and would result in Pilots expecting an enemy to act the same way as he or she does.
The Reason I like These commercial Red Air is they bring in types not used by the USAF and USN changing the dynamics of the match. Instead of F16C vs F16C it's F16C vs Mirage. now the two machines and pilots are thinking differently and operating with different strengths.

 

[Jura The idiot]

The "Pharisees" preaching to the "Messiah",,

OK OK
LOL

 

[Air Force Brat]

Brat it doesn't matter if it's a brand new T50 Trainer, Grippen Aggressor or a F16C+. The point of dissimilar air combat training is to have the pilots face a dissimilar threat. As the F35A moves to be the norm for the USAF that means Flying F35A as the main force. Matching F35A vs F35A is a unlikely event and would result in Pilots expecting an enemy to act the same way as he or she does.
The Reason I like These commercial Red Air is they bring in types not used by the USAF and USN changing the dynamics of the match. Instead of F16C vs F16C it's F16C vs Mirage. now the two machines and pilots are thinking differently and operating with different strengths.

actually it does matter, and Red Flag or Top Gun type exercises are about placing pilots of our front line aircraft into situations where they will lose....in fact most front line pilots moving in to the Red Flag/Top Gun were "dead meat" in their first match-ups with the highly skilled OP-FORE...

the difficulty these days is finding a credible threat to the Raptor? unless you really mess up,,,Air Dominance is NOT just a fashionable phrase... that's why we fight other credible front line militaries....

so there's no way we could find a couple of discarded J-20 or SU-57 prototypes,,, and its been a very real challenge to actually challenge the F-22 pilots, but the F-35 offers some hope, that some F-35 jockey will soon? "get the drop" on an F-22??

not saying flying simulated combat missions against 50 year old has beens is a waste of time,,,, but they're not likely to make you sweat like a pig, right up till the time they have a solid "Missile Lock!", and then you realize that had you been in a real "dust up"?? You would now be dead!

Now, if you turn off everybodys radar, and other fancy finders and say they are going to come out of "no-where", that does up the Ante", seeing and being seen is on the other hand a real contest and a no brainer.