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

[Jura The idiot]

in case you didn't know F-35C, Super Hornet Damaged During At-Sea Aerial Refueling

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An F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter flying from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) was damaged during an aerial refueling exercise, in the first major flight mishap for the carrier version of the JSF.

The engine of an F-35C from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125 was damaged while receiving fuel from an F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA-103 on Aug. 22, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News. Debris from an aerial refueling basket was ingested into the F-35C’s engine intake, resulting in the damage, Naval Air Forces Atlantic spokesman Cmdr. Dave Hecht said on Tuesday.

Both fighters were able to land safely – the Super Hornet flew to Naval Air Station Oceana, Va., while the F-35C returned to Lincoln. No injuries were reported and the incident is currently under investigation, Hecht said.

Damage to the F-35C was reported as a Class A mishap – the most serious type for a military aircraft. An incident is classified as Class A when an aircraft suffers more than $2 million in damage, is totally destroyed or involves a serious or fatal injury to the aircrew. The damage to the F-35 was above the $2 million threshold, Hecht said. A new F135 engine for the JSF costs about $14 million, according to the

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award to engine builder Pratt & Whitney.

The Super Hornet was also damaged but was reported as a Class C mishap because there were no injuries and the total estimated cost of damage to the aircraft is between $50,000 and $500,000, Hecht said.

The

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that Navy officials described as a validation of how the aircraft operates and is maintained and sustained at sea. This first-ever at-sea operational test for the F-35C, launching and recovering alongside Super Hornets, E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes and C-2A Greyhounds, is a first glimpse of what the future air wing will look like once the F-35C reaches initial operational capability and is more widely fielded.

The test offered the Navy a way to gauge how well the F-35 “integrates with the ship, how it interoperates with communications, data links, other aircraft, and then how we conduct the mission and tie into the other aircraft that are conducting that mission and how effective they are when they do it,” Rear Adm. Dale Horan, director of Joint Strike Fighter Fleet Integration for the Navy, explained to reporters during a media event last week aboard Lincoln.

The F-35Cs operating on Lincoln were from VFA-125, a fleet replacement squadron, and VFA-147, an operational squadron. Both are based out of Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.

Navy expects to achieve initial operational capability (IOC) for the F-35C in February 2019. Before achieving IOC, though, the F-35C has to conduct a formal initial operational test and evaluation event at sea, which is expected to occur in the fall. The Navy will also have to show it can man, train, equip and operate 10 F-35Cs at sea, along with establishing an appropriate support network to supply parts and personnel, ahead of declaring IOC.

 

[Jura The idiot]

Jul 28, 2018

don't know how credible the source is, but it'd be a very interesting development if true (and LOL no, I didn't confuse threads), so here comes the article
Israel poised to ink $11 billion aircraft deal with Boeing

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related:
Israel to decide on next fighter jet fleet by the end of the year

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Israel’s Air Force has already received 12 F-35I “Adir” stealth fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin and is expected to receive a total of 50 to make two full squadrons by 2024.

The Israel Air Force is set to decide within the next three to six months between purchasing a third squadron of F-35 jets or Boeing’s latest F-15I, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

With most of Israel’s aircraft up to 30 years ago, the IAF is modernizing its squadrons of aging fighter jets and helicopters in order to keep ahead of increased threats in the Middle East.

Israel’s air force has already received 12 F-35I “Adir” stealth fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin and is expected to receive a total of 50 to make two full squadrons by 2024.

While the original letter of intent signed between Israel and Lockheed Martin was for 75 aircraft, the IAF is currently deciding whether to purchase another 25 F-35s or to purchase an advanced squadron of the F-15s built by Boeing.

In the first deal, Israel purchased 19 F-35s at a cost of $125 million per plane, and a second deal of 14 jets saw Jerusalem pay $112m. each. The cost of the plane is set to drop to around $80m. by 2020.

“The plan is to get down to fourth generation costs for a fifth generation plane,” said Orlando P. Carvalho, executive vice president of the Aeronautics division at Lockheed Martin on Monday.

According to Carvalho, while nothing has yet been signed or officially ordered by Israel, the final fleet could include derivatives of F-35B which is flown by the US Marine Corps.

Israel has expressed interest

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which is capable of vertical takeoff and landing, an option that allows the jet to land on much shorter runways if the IAF’s bases are attacked by Iranian jets or missiles from Hezbollah.

“Israel has always purchased leading edge capabilities,” he said, adding that Lockheed Martin is always looking at where it can increase the capabilities of the F-35, such as new sensors and weapons systems like Rafael’s SPICE precision-guided bomb.

Israel is also the only country outside the United States which has been able to secure the rights to operate the plane’s brain – the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) – and add its own software onto it.

The IAF is also set to take delivery of an additional F-35 in 2020 which is being manufactured according to Israeli specifications, having a special suite of test instrumentation to be used to enhance

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during operations. The jet is expected to act as a test aircraft for modifications Israel would make to the plane.

While it is considered to be one of the world’s most advanced fighter jets, the stealth aircraft is limited in the weapons it is able to carry as they have to be stored in internal munition boxes in order to maintain a low radar signature.

The F-15 model that Israel is interested in purchasing is able to carry large quantities of various types of munitions, advanced radar systems and various other upgrades to the earlier models. Since it is not a stealth plane, Boeing has designed its wings to be able to carry additional bombs and missiles.

Boeing’s F-15 is also set to be more expensive than Lockheed’s already expensive F-35, costing some $110m.-$130m. per plane.
In addition to the fighter jets, the IAF is also currently deciding between Boeing’s Chinook and Lockheed Martin’s CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters.

 

[Jura The idiot]

nothing new in here so cross-posting from
US Military News, Reports, Data, etc. 3 minutes ago

wondering how is Jeff?

All

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San Diego-based assault ship

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LHD2 is operating in the Gulf of Aden with her ARG (

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LPD23 and

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LSD47) and the 13th

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Expeditionary Unit

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. Those six F-35B JSFs of VMFA-211 look pretty mean on her decks too.

 

[Air Force Brat]

nothing new in here so cross-posting from
US Military News, Reports, Data, etc. 3 minutes ago

wondering how is Jeff?

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San Diego-based assault ship

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LHD2 is operating in the Gulf of Aden with her ARG (

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LPD23 and

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LSD47) and the 13th

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Expeditionary Unit

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. Those six F-35B JSFs of VMFA-211 look pretty mean on her decks too.

Mr. Head, report to the bridge!!!! Hey Bub, we're wondering how its going sir??

Jura he posted a couple of days ago

Nice pictures Jura, and I'm sure Master Jeff would give it a big LIKE! a number 10!

Six 5th generation aircraft, able to forward deploy anywhere in the world with water deeper than a swimming pool, that's "Airpower"!

 

[Jura The idiot]

!

as you might notice, Mods deleted that horrendous something like Who's Written Anti-Trump Piece thread

EDIT I knew moderation worked here as yesterday I got censored in the US Thread (a comment on certain classes of USN warships)

 

[Air Force Brat]

as you might notice, Mods deleted that horrendous something like Who's Written Anti-Trump Piece thread

EDIT I knew moderation worked here as yesterday I got censored in the US Thread (a comment on certain classes of USN warships)

like school you punish everyone to make sure the guilty don't feel to bad about themselves!

actually similar to our family motto? "the beatings will continue until morale improves",,, that must be somewhere in the SDF philosophy of life???

back on topic: no doubt Mr. Jeff will love these photo's of the F-35B on everything, and more will be coming, I hope master Jeff has the pleasure of sixing six on those Izumo's. That will cause folks to spaz out for sure..

I does occur to me that F-35's tend to like being in flights of 4 or 8 for maximum sensor fusion, I'm anxious to see how that information overlaps, I'm wondering if possibly you can have to much information, so there will need to be filters?

 

[Jura The idiot]

I guess there's as much F-35 praise as you might expect inside
Marines Deploy First F-35Bs to the Middle East; 13th MEU, Essex ARG Test Battle Readiness

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[Jura The idiot]

Yesterday at 9:14 PM

I guess there's as much F-35 praise as you might expect inside
Marines Deploy First F-35Bs to the Middle East; 13th MEU, Essex ARG Test Battle Readiness

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and
Marines Prepared to Use F-35Bs in Middle East Combat If Needed; No Other Naval Aviation Nearby

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The Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters are the only ship-based fixed-wing aircraft in the Middle East right now, and service leaders say the new jets are ready to handle any fight in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan they may be tasked with.

Though the F-35Bs have never seen combat before, they are now the only available fighters from the Navy or Marine Corps in the region, and service leaders say they are not going to ease the F-35 into operations. Whatever 5th Fleet and U.S. Central Command leadership asks of naval aviation, the F-35Bs deployed with the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit will be ready to handle, they say.

“The deployment of the F-35B into U.S. Central Command is a major milestone for the program and validates the aircraft is in the fight right now, conducting real-world operations; it is actively supporting combatant commanders. We look forward to demonstrating the capability of our newest, advanced stealth aircraft during this deployment,” Capt. Christopher Harrison, a spokesman at Headquarters Marine Corps at the Pentagon, told USNI News.
“The F-35Bs on the 13th MEU are able to execute any mission that may arise in U.S. Central Command while simultaneously providing a high-end deterrent to any near-peer threat that may emerge. These aircraft feature Block 3F software which provides ‘

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’ from its fully-enabled data link to increased weapons delivery capacity. The F-35’s ability to operate in contested areas, including anti-access/area-denial environments that legacy fighters cannot penetrate, provides more lethality and flexibility to the combatant commander than any other fighter platform.”

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the Block 3F software allows the plane to load up with more ordnance than the F/A-18C Hornet can carry through external pylons, or it can clear the wings and rely only on internal weapons carriage to preserve its fifth-generation stealth capability.

Whereas the U.S. military faced relatively uncontested air space over Afghanistan and Iraq for the better part of the last 17 years,

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. The Syrian government has its own jets in the air and air defense systems on the ground. Russian forces and other players complicate the air space, as the U.S. has tried to provide close-air support for U.S. and partner forces on the ground.

Lt. Christina Gibson, a spokeswoman for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, told USNI News that, rather than ease the new F-35Bs into operations, leaders would leverage the advanced capabilities the jets bring to this complex airspace.

“The F-35B Lightning II is a significant advance in air superiority. It combines next-generation fighter characteristics of radar-evading stealth, supersonic speed, fighter agility and advanced logistical support with the most powerful and comprehensive integrated sensor package of any fighter aircraft in history, providing the [Marine Air-Ground Task Force] unparalleled lethality and survivability,” she said.
“The F-35B can provide close air support in threat environments where other current platforms would not survive, or require multiple aircraft packages. It provides unparalleled protection to our Marines and Sailors on the ground.”

Gibson added that the new plane provides more options to operational planners by being able to get into spaces that legacy F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets and AV-8B Harriers couldn’t, and “allows pilots and the MEU commander to do more to protect our warfighters and coalition partners on the ground. The F-35B allows us to approach our mission from a position of strength in the CENTCOM [area of responsibility], enabling maritime superiority that enhances stability and ensures security while providing support to operations on the ground.”

The Essex ARG and 13th MEU chopped into U.S. 5th Fleet at the beginning of September – during a time when no capital ships at all have been in the region to provide strike aviation to Operation Inherent Resolve or Operation Freedom’s Sentinel since the

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.

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since USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) stopped conducting

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, and no carriers have operated from within the 5th Fleet area of responsibility since USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)

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.

During this amphibious force’s time in 5th Fleet, the Essex ARG and 13th MEU will do what most other ARG/MEUs do during their deployments: they will train with partners’ militaries, they will conduct sustainment training, and they will be ready to respond to crises that arise, as well as support the named operations in the Middle East if called upon. The presence of the F-35s doesn’t change any of that, Gibson said, but she added that leaders were excited to show off the new capability and approach each task with a more sophisticated weapon.

“The ARG/MEU team will participate in exercises and, as tasked, combat operations during their deployment in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. From these exercises and operations, the Navy/Marine Corps team will demonstrate the capabilities that the F-35B brings to the ARG/MEU and how to best employ those capabilities,” she said.
“The Essex Amphibious Ready Group and the 13th Marine Corps Expeditionary Unit are conducting a Theater Amphibious Combat Rehearsal to demonstrate the ability to secure littoral environments, as part of the Theater Counter Mine and Maritime Security Exercise. Commencing September 8th,

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with regional and global partners which demonstrate our capability, intent, and resolve to ensure freedom of movement and navigation through all three critical choke points across the theater simultaneously. The F-35B allows the ARG/MEU to demonstrate resolve to provide air and maritime superiority to ensure security at sea and on land with the introduction of the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft. The F-35B allows us to approach our mission from a position of strength in the Central Region and to ensure freedom of movement and navigation through all three critical choke points across the theater simultaneously.”

 

[Air Force Brat]

Yesterday at 9:14 PMand
Marines Prepared to Use F-35Bs in Middle East Combat If Needed; No Other Naval Aviation Nearby

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KOOL! wait till some Dude fires up his S-400, KABLAMO! Hey it is what it is, makes me shiver a little. If we keep the Trumpster, I look for a US/Japanese F-22 Advance upgrade, it really is time, and SIX Gen is just words on paper at this juncture, NOTHING as far as hardware, besides a 5.5 Gen Raptor is all we really need out to about 2065!

 

[Jura The idiot]

... out to about 2065!

LOL I'll turn 94 in 2065